Naruto Obito Uchiha - A Second Chance
by weaponwes123
Summary: When Naruto died in the Fifth Shinobi World War, the Sage of Six Paths gives him another chance at life...in Obito's body! How will history change as the Number One Unpredictable Ninja is matured in the fires of two world wars and yet an Uchiha? Smart Naruto/Obito! Strong Naruto/Obito! Naruto/ObitoxHarem!
1. Chapter 1: Beginning of the End

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.**

Chapter 1: Beginning of the End

War. That was the last ten years of Naruto's life was.

After defeating both Obito and Madara, Naruto thought the war was over and he could go back to Konoha to get 40 bowls of the food of the gods. He was tired. He wanted to mourn for his friend Sasuke whom took the hit so Naruto could finish the job. Alas, it was not meant to be.

The end of the Fourth Shinobi World War, which was the shortest war, led directly into the Fifth Shinobi World War, the longest war ever fought ironically. It was the smaller countries formed like Ame and Haze formed the Confederate of the Small Dominion against what was left of the Allied Shinobi Force. The Confederates wanted to expand their territory into the five great shinobi countries. So a night after the Allied Shinobi Force was slowly retreating back home to rest and grief for the fallen, news of the fifth war broke out when both Iwa and Kumo were destroyed.

Panic created a disorganized chain of command that allowed the Confederates to attack Suna as well. Because the Allied Shinobi Forces already took major losses from the previous war, they were forced to retreat to through Fire Country to Kiri. Weeks went by before the Allied Force was able to establish a successful counterattack to start to push the Confederates out of Fire Country. It was doing well, until Ame invented Chakra Rifles that started the Chakra Arms Revolution.

Chakra Rifles are created from two main components. Chakra batteries are storage seals that could store the user's elemental chakra and little of that chakra would allow the seal to continue to replenish the chakra. As a result, civilians could also fight as well even if they had small reserves. The second part is the Shape Barrel. It had seals that allowed shape transformation to create spheres of chakra. The result was an efficient weapon that shot mini Rasengans like bullets the size of a coin far distances mixed with different elemental chakras miles across the battlefield. The only downfall of this weapon that it took time to cool the Shape Barrel.

The definition of war changed soon after. The war were fought in trenches and it became who would control the most trenches the longest would slowly gain the upper hand. Both sides forced the advancement of Chakra Rifles until it became the sole weapon of choice for the shinobi. Weapons like swords and shuriken became useless as the rifle became more advanced to shoot faster and farther.

War takes something away from everyone. In this case, Naruto's naivety. Shikamaru drilled lessons into his head from war tactics to efficient ways to kill. For the first time, Naruto willingly committed the slaughter of hundreds of troops in a trench. It pained him to do this, but it was rationalized it as necessary to protect his precious people. After all, his father had done the same with a heavy heart.

~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~

On the night of October 10, Naruto and a squad of 10 shinobi, named Squad Dominion, made an attack on the outer part of the trench. Using his trusty kunai, he silenced two watchers with wind chakra in the trees before moving north through the trench, eliminating any enemies with his squad they found. Squad Dominion went through the sandy trenches quickly and quietly. It wasn't until a shinobi from Iwa died in front of him from an explosion that the mission took a turn for worse.

_Shit!_

Naruto quickly rolled away as the explosion from the artillery round that landed in the center of the squad, killing everyone except himself. He quickly got up and started waving signs to clear the dust.

Futon: Daitoppa (Wind Release: Great Breakthrough)

Pulling a kunai in his mouth, he dash forward into the sea of enemies, realizing he fell into a trap. If he was going to fall today, he was going to take as many of the bastards as he can, Zabuza Momochi style!

_Its time for me to rest..._

On October 11, the Allied Shinobi Force reported that Squad Dominion achieved their objective of cleaning the Western trenches at Suna, allowing them to establish a second front on the Confederates. The cost was Squad Dominion being listed as KIA.

~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~

Watching this all through a portal, was a white clothed figure that could be floating with a black staff and six round balls floating around him.

This man was none other than the fabled Hagoromo Otsutsuki, the Sage of Six Paths, and the God of Shinobi. And right now the man with two purple eyes observed his last descendant in the living world from limbo, the reincarnation Asura. And right now the man was watching a scene that made him feel utmost pride in, for the young Uzumaki who he's watch over since he was just a babe grow to become a powerful shinobi to even have the potential to exceed even himself. The boy had the godly potential to become one of the strongest the world would have ever seen if his life were not plagued by injustice and bad luck.

Though he didn't blame him the Uzumaki for not being strong, for if it was someone else, they would have been dead already.

_This boy has such potential...its almost frightening...but I do find myself curious as to how powerful he would become if he were living… _The deity mused to himself, contemplating on the case of Naruto Uzumaki.

He closed his eyes in thought of the young Uzumaki who had passed every expectation he had for countless times and then some. It was shocking how far and how fast the boy had gone but feels proud of him, for he felt like his true successor. Although he might not be as strong as his other descendants, he had the ability to do so in the right environment.

"I've made up my mind...but it's the boy's decision…" he muttered and thus with a shift of his hand came a portal that was black as the void. They circled before him that is as they slowly solidified. And what formed was the body of one Naruto Uzumaki only clothes in a white kimono with nine black magatama on the back.

Naruto opened his eyes when he felt a sudden chill go up his spine did he slowly look to where it was coming from only to see a figure floating in a cross-legged position. The man's purple eyes looked just like Nagato's.

Naruto grunted, propping himself up on his feet. So he really died again. Funny. Thought it would hurt more. He wondered how would hell would look like. He already knew he was no saint, killing hundreds in the war. Looking around, he saw blackness around him, illuminating the figure in white in front of him.

_I hope my friends won't be sad at me for dying._

"**Hello young Uzumaki, it is a pleasure to finally meet you...face to face…" **the deity said to the young blond hair man, who quirked an eyebrow at the figure before realizing no hostile intent from the man.

"Um, yeah nice to meet you too but who are you?" he questioned as he thought he would be seeing the Shinigami who wasn't too happy at him for getting away the first time around. Yet for some reason, he felt this man could answer his unasked questions for he gave off a feeling of unattainable wisdom that no other could hope to achieve.

"**My name's Hagoromo Otsutsuki."** Naruto's eyes went wide. He knew all too well of the being in front of him was the first shinobi to walk on the planet. Madara always ranted about him in his evil villain monologue.

"I see...But aren't I supposed to see the Shinigami cause I'm dead? Unless this is the afterlife…?"

"**Well that all depends on you actually. You see, I have been watching you my descendant and I feel proud of your perseverance through your hard life. And that is why I will allow you something no one else in history of mankind has ever gotten and that is a second chance. A new life where you can start over, although not in your world or dimension due to your soul signature truly leaving the plane of existence…"**

A second chance? A new life? It was almost too good to be true, he'd been fighting for a few years but he felt as if he had been fighting for his entire life. Fighting non-stop exhausted him more than anyone else ever thought always needing to fight to protect himself, and friends against the Confederation. But at times, he wished be able to not be stressed with the weight everyone put on him in his genin days with Sasuke.

_Sasuke...I still have not thank him for sacrificing his life for mine. Just like on our first mission...But, he is willing to give me a second chance...although it pains me to not be able to see my family and friends again...I'd like nothing more than to have another chance…_

The Sage of Six Paths could see the boy thinking on his offer and smiled. He made his decision.

"**So Uzumaki...what is your decision?" **he asked with a grandfather voice. Naruto closed his eyes before letting out a small sigh. Slowly he looked up at the deity and in that moment he spoke, speaking the words that would forever change his life.

And for the better…

"I...Accept…" he said thus making the Sage in front of him give a small nod in confirmation that he acknowledged his decision. An aura that surrounded the Sage covered Naruto and wrapped around him like a cocoon.

"Very good then...best be on your way then Naruto, or Obito Uchiha...and best of luck...my child…" and before Naruto could say a word, he felt himself being sucked into a portal and lost consciousness. The last thing he saw was the form of the Sage of Six Paths giving him a smile.

Seeing him gone, the deity let out a small sigh as he slowly became particles. Now the mantle has been passed on to his last descendant. Smiling at the thought, he slowly faded away, ready to meet his brother Hamura in the afterlife along with the rest of his clan.

~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~

In an alternate universe, Kakashi and Rin watched how their teammate Obito got buried under an Earth jutsu. In his anger, he released his newest jutsu, Raiton: Chidori (Lightning Release: One Thousand Birds), on the Iwa Shinobi for vengeance while Rin simply watched the rock pile where Obito got buried.

And there was nothing to do. As Kakashi and Minato cleaned up the rest of the shinobi, Rin ran towards the pile of rocks and started to move as many rocks as possible, regardless of the cuts on her hands.

"Rin! Stop! He's gone...Obito...is gone…" Kakashi said solemnly with a clenched first.

"No! It can't be true. It can't." Rin cried in agony as she slump down to the ground and her lifeless eyes stared as the pile.

Minato simply bowed and gave a moment of silence for failing to protect his students before dragging his two students back to Konoha. "We have to go now. We have to return back to Konoha and tell the Hokage what happened here…"

Team Seven looked back one more time at the place where Obito's body rested with tears flowing down their eyes. They turned and walked.

_Its going to be a long walk...Rest in peace Obito… _Minato thought.

~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~

When Naruto's 26-year-old soul connected with Obito's 12-year-old soul, the two fused together taking personalities of both Naruto and Obito. But since Naruto lived longer and had more experience in life, Naruto's personality slowly overrode Obito's.

For a few minutes, all was silent in the world between the material and spiritual world as the essence of the Uchiha and Senju descendant became one once more. This allowed the Yin and Yang of the Sage of Six Paths that was once separated in his descendants to reunite and form fragments of Shinju chakra, leftover chakra from Hagoromo being the Jinchuriki of the Juubi.

Once the souls finished merging, it slowly dissipated in Obito's buried body. The chakra that accompanied the soul slowly started to integrate itself with the chakra pathway system and the 361 tenketsus. Slowly, what was left of Obito's chakra was recycled for the body to produce Shinju chakra. The new foreign chakra slowly spread throughout the body. It destroyed cells that rejected the foreign substance: skin cells, muscle cells, organ cells, immune cells, and blood cells. The surviving cells were contaminated with the new chakra to produce more powerful and durable cells.

If one saw Obito's body during this process, they would see the body twitching a lot underground. They would hear multiple bones pop painfully and mend back together. They would see pieces of skin would fall off quickly to be replaced with paler ones. They would notice Obito's black hair grew longer and had some strands of grey. But what was most outstanding was that Obito's body was slowly getting longer and wider, making him looks like a true teenager of the Uchiha Clan.

Once the fusion of Uchiha and Senju was completed, two red Sharingan eyes opened and glowed in the darkness. Then two tomoe evolved into three. The Sharingans were spinning in darkness rapidly before evolving into the Mangekyo Sharingan, three stretched triangles evenly spaced around the pupil that each curve at the top around the eye to form a circle.

Naruto and Obito's eyes started to bleed as they saw a distortion in space. As the body buried underground began to put chakra into the Dojutsu of the body, the Shinju chakra hummed as it flowed and connected with the eyes. Obito said one word, a word that would save him countless times and make him an S-class shinobi of Konoha.

Kamui (Authority of the Gods).

Then the body of Obito's body swirled and got sucked into a dimension.


	2. Chapter 2: Heading Back Home

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.**

Chapter 2: Heading Back Home

Hiruzen Sarutobi let out another sigh as he finally finished a third of his paperwork. He just stamped a proposal to further put more funding into the academy to get more teachers for students to graduate early because Konoha needed more troops on the ground to hold onto the deadlock with Iwa.

_I wonder if Hashirama-sensei's dream will ever be realized at this rate. Three wars and yet there is still no sign of wars stopping…_

The Third Hokage hated war for a multitude of reasons. He was forced to send people on missions, fully knowing they wouldn't return. He was forced to send young academy students to the deaths instead of sending them to do D-rank missions to cultivate the teamwork skills for the future. He was forced to shift the economy to focus on creating explosives and weapons and building up funds for the village to survive the war in a battle of attrition than supporting new businesses and fixing infrastructure. But most of all, he was forced to do a lot of paperwork. A lot. The white tower of doom sitting on his desk was five times bigger than he was used too.

Hiruzen swore upon his mantle of Hokage that this tower got bigger every time he wasn't looking. He wished he had the Uchiha's secret ability to set fire on anything they laid their eyes on. Then no one would accuse of him avoiding paperwork. Right?

He heard a knock on the door. Straightening his posture to look like the leader of Konoha, he composed himself before calling whoever knocked to let come in.

His heart fell as he saw Team Minato arrived without one of its members. He already knew what happened, enforced by the facts that both students had red eyes. Even Minato didn't look as chipper as he normally did.

"Team Minato, report!" Hiruzen barked, wanting to know the status of the mission. They could grieve later. He didn't like doing that, but it had to be done. Once again, he cursed his sensei for giving the job to him before dying a glorious death. He couldn't even remember the last time he practiced his jutsu for more than fifteen minutes before his secretary forced him to do paperwork.

"Hokage-sama, Team Minato was sent to Kusagakure to destroy the Kannabi Bridge. I transferred the leadership of the mission to one Jonin Kakashi Hatake and headed to the front lines to distract the Iwa forces. There, I eliminated the surviving shinobi platoon and tried to link up with my team. Genin Rin Nohara was kidnapped in my absence. Both Jonin Kakashi Hatake and Chunin Obito Uchiha followed and found her in a cave. The Iwa used a Doton: Iwayado Kuzushi (Earth Release: Rock Lodging Destruction) to cause a cave in. Chunin Obito Uchiha pushed Jonin Kakashi Hatake away from a falling rock and was buried in the cave in. Jonin Kakashi Hatake and myself eliminated the rest of the Iwa shinobi." Minato reported to his leader with a monotone, trying to hide the outburst of emotions from his next sentence. "Chunin Obito Uchiha sacrificed his life for his teammates under the ideals of the Will of Fire and is listed currently as KIA."

Hiruzen took a deep breath before looking at the remaining members of Team Minato in the eye before speaking. "Good job for completing the objective Team Minato. Have a month off to cool down and rest. Chunin Obito Uchiha will be added to the memorial stone for the sacrifices he made for Konoha. You are dismissed."

Team Minato left the Hokage Office quietly. The Kage let out another sigh before looking outside the window. He put his pipe into his mouth and inhaled the fragrance of tobacco to soothe his nerves. After a moment of silence for sending another child to his death, he forced himself to continue his paperwork.

~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~

When using Kamui (Authority of the Gods), Naruto felt himself being sucked into a straw before appearing in his pocket dimension. The dimension looked like a bunch of cube shaped platforms of blue floating in empty space. Sitting down on a cube, he sat in a meditative position. He had fragments of Obito's memories and knew what had happened when the Sage of Six Paths sent him to this dimension but he needed to absorb all the memories of the body for the personality to fully integrate within his head. For hours, Naruto sat with a major headache similar to the time when all 1,000 Kage Bushin deactivated at the same time and gave him the biggest migraine he ever had in his life.

Through the memories, Naruto felt everything Obito experienced in his short life. He had no idea who his parents were. His peers constantly ignored him. He wanted to be Hokage to gain respect and be remembered. He found someone at his age who didn't dismissed his dream for the first time and had a crush on her. He was the dobe of the class and everyone didn't take him seriously. He wanted to be acknowledged by Kakashi for his skill and talent. He tried to confess to Rin, only to find out she had a celebration for Kakashi becoming a Jonin. He felt the anger directed at Kakashi not attempting to rescue Rin. He found Rin alive and was very happy. He pushed Kakashi away automatically because he was a friend. He was scared to die and be forgotten by the rest of the world.

In the process of absorbing the memories, he noticed a lot of the similarities Team Minato had with Team 7.

_It is scary how Obito was like myself. We wanted to be known, Kakashi and Sasuke was the cool know-it-all kid with a stick up their asses, and Rin and Sakura were the medics who kept the balance between us. Even the same love triangle existed...but not anymore._

After experiencing two worst shinobi world wars recorded in history, Naruto was disillusioned about the world and lost his dream of being Hokage. Every reason he wanted to be a Hokage, he achieved at the battlefield. He already got recognition in both wars for being a hero. He was a leader on the front lines of the Fifth World Shinobi War, leading troops into battle and had the status of Jonin Commander. He learned new devastating jutsu by shinobi from different villages that allowed him to killed hundreds that killing wasn't a problem anymore.

_And most importantly, why would you want to stay in a room all day to fill out paperwork. Writing a summary of the mission is tiring enough._

No...Naruto wanted to achieve a different dream. He wanted to start a family. He wanted to have someone who would love him unconditionally and stick with him through thick and thin. He wanted someone to meet when he came home tired. He wanted children to spoil and teach ninja arts to. But most of all, he didn't want to be alone. And the Sage of Six Paths has given him a means to do so.

After living through numerous hardships in the trenches where death surrounded everyone, he started to understand women more and found that he preferred mature woman who were stronger and independent. He got over his childhood crush of Sakura. He was happy the first couple of times when he had to calm Sakura because the amount of death she had to face in the hospital but after a while, he found it really annoying to come back to rest to only to hear about her ranting about the unfairness of the world. And the couple of times when she punched him to only to land in the middle of a shooting zone. Yep. He learned the hard way.

With Kakashi's Icha Icha books that he would sometimes borrowed, he found himself looking at older women like Anko and Hana, but discreetly so Baa-chan wouldn't send him to the hospital. The only one who he didn't look at was Kurenai after seeing Ero-sennin gets hit with a genjutsu of Lee and Gai hugging while shouting about youth for a whole week.

_Yeah...Ero-sennin couldn't look at another guy for more than five seconds without puking. _

The more he filtered Obito's memories, the more he empathized with the Uchiha. He was an orphan like him, who wanted to be hokage so he wouldn't be forgotten by the masses. He loved doing pranks and the only one who acknowledged him was a girl on his team. He was really freaked out by how many parallels there are. He could really see why Obito decided to play the villain.

_But maybe, I can gain the love both Obito and I wanted in this life. I have the skills and talent necessary. After all, Ero-sennin did teach me seduction techniques if I ever needed info from brothels..._

After finishing twelve years worth of memories, Naruto spent the rest of the week in his pocket dimension to train so he could get used to his body. Starting with taijutsu, Naruto started to practice his free form style that was created from fight different types of taijutsu styles from Hyuga's Juken to Lee's Strong Fist. Naruto would spend a couple of hours fighting Kage Bunshin to get used to having a smaller reach and integrate whatever reflexes Obito had obtained in his lifetime.

Naruto would spawn fifty Kage Bushin no Jutsu (Shadow Clone Technique) and command them to practice a jutsu he learned. He didn't have much success in most of his jutsu he learned except for fire, but he trained them anyway because he needed his body to get used to using all five elemental natures easily.

He also needed to train his chakra control. Even though Obito and himself had decent chakra control in comparison to their chakra levels, their control was shot to hell. When he took the first step to practice wall walking on a cube, he was sent flying fifty feet away into another cube and hitting his head. After a couple of tries, he found out that his chakra was denser and potent than ever before, similar to a Biju. He did have to give acknowledgement to the Biju who had massive chakra reservoirs yet perfect chakra control. He reflected that it might have been because of combining the Uchiha and Senju bloodlines, based on information Madara gave when he integrated Hashirama's cells into his own body.

_I love Madara-teme. His evil villain rants are more interesting than Iruka-sensei!_

Regardless, Naruto was determined to regain his lost chakra control. With a new generation of clones, they ran up the wall and crashed into the cube. This would go for several hours before there was progress and Naruto could fight multiple clones on walls.

He couldn't practice genjutsu because his last life had horrible chakra control and Obito himself didn't study a lot on it so he wouldn't practice it till he got back to Konoha. He remembered Sasuke saying something about a library in the Uchiha compound that was later destroyed in the war and would look there for some information of using the Sharingan on using genjutsu.

And since Naruto was on the topic of Sharingan, he needed to figure out if he would go blind from overusing the Mangekyo Sharingan. Madara, Izuna, Itachi, and Sasuke showed that overuse would go blind and were forced to switch eyes for the eternal version. But Obito and his sensei never showed that. Of course, their Mangekyo Sharingan powers were much different but he wanted to be sure he wouldn't go blind since he didn't have any family members with the upgraded Sharingan to trade with. But he would use the base Sharingan when necessary because Naruto learned the hard way that no matter how much he disliked the overpowered dojutsu in existence, he had to use all the tools he had available.

Once his days of training were up, Naruto listed his priorities. The main one was that he needed to get back to Konoha. The memories he gained from Obito would curve a lot of his suspicion. The Mangekyo Sharingan would explain his boosted levels of chakra and how he escaped safely. And the near death experience would explain why he didn't have a childish personality and would take his training more seriously. Patting himself on the back for a job well done, he sent himself back to the place he died. After looting the dead Iwa shinobi of clothes and supplies, Naruto took a direction to head to, hoping to get a clue of how to get to Konoha.

_After all, the landscape was much different fifty years ago with trenches and flat lands. And Obito was more focused on important things. Like the angelic sculpture of Rin...yep, I really need to change the priorities of this body._

~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~

Tsunami, a beautiful woman with long flowing blue hair that went past her shoulders, was walking with a horse pulling a cart full of her belongings. This woman came from a farmer's family from Ame who was heading through Fire Country to find a better life away from the war-torn country. Her goal was to find a safe place to settle down and start a family.

She smiled as she remembered her adventures. The family decided to cut their loses and tried to move to a different country. But Ame Shinobis were preventing any emigration out so the family split up in hopes that at least one member got out of the country. They decided to meet in Fire Country in a year later. Her journey was marked with struggle, hunger, and danger. But, she was proud that she would succeed since she was near the border of Fire Country

But on the way, Tsunami was attacked by a group of bandits. The woman struggled with all her might against her smelly aggressors but it was for naught. A woman who worked on the farm could not fight ten grown up strong men.

"Well well...for a good looking bitch, you put up a pretty good fight!" One of the bandits said with a grin, showing his missing teeth.

"Do you guys wanna have some fun with the bitch? She looks real good." Tsunami's eyes widened when she heard the word "fun". She knew exactly what they wanted to do with her.

After all the bandits spoke in affirmative, a third bandit spoke, "Alright boys! We can have some fun! You two. Pin her down. Since I the boss, I'll have a go at the lass first!" Tsunami looked at the man to see that he was really ugly. He had a lot of scars on his face, yellow teeth, and a dirty beard. When she accidentally smelled the bandit's breath, she wanted to throw up.

The third bandit used a knife and started to cut pieces of her pants , revealing her light pink panty to the men. Then, he pulled his pants down. Pulling out his penis, he pulled the panty out of the way and positioned himself to enter her.

Tsunami began to cry and scream to the world and told them to stop, but the words fell dead upon the group of men.

_I wanted my first time to be with someone special…_

Tears streamed down her face as Tsunami was losing hope rapidly.

"Don't worry girle. The boss will use his 'boom smasher' on you. You will start enjoying it soon." A bandit jeered in the back. The rest of the men laughed loudly in response.

The refugee from Ame closed her eyes, waiting for the inevitable. Seconds passed as she didn't feel violated yet. She slowly opened her eyes to peek and saw the bandit that was going to take her virginity was missing a head. Nearby, she saw a kunai drenched in blood held by someone. She followed the arm up to see a man with long black hair that went past his shoulders, bangs that covered his right eye, and a left red eye with something black spinning in it rapidly. Tsunami stared into the man's red eye and lost herself in the crimson color that depicted strength, power and conviction. She could only stare in awe at her savior.

The man turned to look at her and gave her a disarming smile that didn't match with the liquid flowing from his weapon. He spoke in a smooth baritone voice that illustrated kindness but demanded respect, sending shivers through her body. "Close your eyes. And it will all be over."

Feeling the truthfulness in his words, Tsunami immediately closed them. For a few seconds, all she heard was the screams of bandits that were going to rape her or do worst. But she couldn't feel the need that she should care. The man's words made her feel safe.

"It's safe...you can open your eyes now." Naruto said. He tried to give his most happiest smile to make the girl feel safer after a potentially life traumatizing event. "Are you ok miss?"

Tsunami could only stare at the man who just saved her. _With that smile, he looks...like an angel…_

She noticed after a few moments of staring at his face, memorizing his handsome features, which he was frowning and waving a hand in her face. Realizing that she was staring, she averted her eyes to the ground and responded embarrassedly, "Ahh...Thank you sir. I-I was s-so scared that they w-were g-going to…"

Before the blue-haired woman could finish that statement, she felt two muscular arms wrap around her. Naruto whispered into her ear. "Its alright now miss...Let it out...They can't hurt you anymore."

As the severity of the situation was sinking in, Tsunami responded by pushing off the ground and tackled Naruto to the floor and cried loudly in the man's embrace.

After grunting from hitting the ground, Naruto made soothing whispers into the woman's ear and rubbing her back in circles.

Absentmindedly, Naruto used his Sharingan to look over Tsunami's body for any sign of her being a kunoichi. _Lets see...the female is in her late teens. She is a little malnourished, but proper dieting would fix that._ _Her hands are rough and have calluses, so not a runaway noble or concubine. Bicep, quadriceps, deltoid, and rhomboid muscles have been significantly worked compared to the rest of her body so a farmer. She has a B bust size, which could grow up to DDs with proper diet. Great hips for childbearing with slender waist. Analysis complete! She would be a...bad Naruto. Bad Naruto! You should not be checking out a girl's three sizes while she is recovering from a traumatic event. Rikudo Sennin damn it! Ero-sennin...I blame you for this!_

~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~

The person in question was busy hiding behind a wooden wall, giggling like a schoolgirl because of all the beautiful naked women bathing in the hot spring. He licked his lips and was about to write in his trusty notebook before his "Super Pervert" senses were tingling.

Forgetting about the nearby subjects of observation, he jumped onto his two feet and screamed to the sky. "Ah hah! Someone in this world is following the Path of the Sage. The Path of...The Super Pervert! I must find this person. It is a glorious day for…"

His speech to the heavens was stop by a cough behind him.

Like the good samaritan he was, the sage slowly turned around to see if someone needed help. There, he saw various women covering themselves in towels holding various weaponry.

"Hey ladies! Nice to see you here…" Jiraya let out a little laugh while sweating, realizing he was in trouble. _But if I plan my cards right, then the gallant Jiraiya would be safe. If I say…_ "I was just passing by and…" His thought process stopped when one of the woman's towel slipped down a bit, revealing a girl's cleavage more to him. "Oh Kasumi...you've grown!" The pervert was making groping motions with his hands while panting like a bull.

"Die!" Kasumi ran towards him, waving her katana in the air. This made the other woman start attacking the self proclaimed Super Pervert.

The hot springs was filled with sounds of angry woman giving out feminine justice and girlish screams.

~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~

After a few minutes of crying, Tsunami's tears slowly stopped. She reluctantly pulled away from her savior's embrace.

Naruto decided to introduce himself. "Hello. My name is Obito Uchiha. Nice to meet you Miss…"

"Tsunami. Tsunami Suzuki. Thank you for protecting me against those bandits, Obito-san."

Naruto could only stare in shock as he realized whom exactly he rescued. _Wait a minute...she looks familiar. If this is the same female as Tsunami-chan from Wave Country and she got raped in the Third Shinobi World War in my last life, did I just prevent Inari from being born? Her husband Kaiza was a father figure but not the biological father of Inari and she didn't really want to talk about who was the actual father of Inari. Shit! Did I just technically kill someone?_

Thinking about the dilemma for another day, he needed to make sure she was safe. After all, she was the kindest woman he met for the first time in his life. "It's alright Tsunami-chan! A beautiful girl like you shouldn't experience something that horrible."

Tsunami cheeks flushed red. She liked the way he spoke of her name.

"Where are you heading Tsunami-chan? I need to get back to Konoha."

"Ahh...I was traveling through Fire Country to find a place to settle down. Can I come with you?" Tsunami said pleadingly. _He might be the prince that I was looking for!_

"Of course!" With a grin that made her heartbeat really fast, he took out a sealing scroll that he found on a battlefield. With a poof, he unsealed and gave some looted Iwa Shinobi clothes. While she was changing, he sent some clones to scout the area and others to seal Tsunami's belongings into the scroll.

After waiting a couple of minutes and hearing Tsunami was done changing, she took Naruto's hand. She tried to stand up until her feet gave out on her. Naruto catches her bridal style before she could hit the ground

"You can't move on your own yet. I'll carry you back to the village." When one of the clones put the scroll in Naruto's back pocket, the clones started to dispel themselves one by one. Naruto used a little chakra to jump on a tree branch and started running to Konoha.

Tsunami made herself comfortable in her savior's arms. _I think...I think he is the one._

And with that decision made, Tsunami inhaled Naruto's scent and enjoyed being carried like a princess in the fairy tales.

~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~

It took two days to get back to Konoha with Tsunami. They finally saw the massive wooden gate and Naruto let out a grin. _It's good to be home again!_

"Halt! Who are you?" One of the Shinobi guards asked.

"Chunin Obito Uchiha. Exporting a refugee from Ame, Tsunami Suzuki."

The guard was muttering the name while scrolling down the list since he didn't recognize the man with a Konoha headband. He tapped the name in affirmative. "ID number?"

"010886."

"Welcome back Chunin. You team came back home two weeks ago and is currently on probation. You are listed as...KIA?" The guard was suspiciously looking at the Uchiha in question while calling for an ANBU squadron.

Tsunami looked at her savior angrily," I thought you said you were a Konoha Shinobi!" _Was he going to do horrible things to me too?_

"I did. It was just that in my last mission, I got stuck in a cave in. It took a while to find my way back."

Tsunami could only gasp dimly at the man. _And I am already doubting him...I am a horrible person. _"I'm sorry Obito-san."

"Its alright."

"Chunin Obito Uchiha." One of the ANBU said, "You and your associate are to be escorted to the Hokage's office to be questioned. Failing to agree or resisting means death." The squad surrounded the two people with hands ready to bring out their weapons.

"Troublesome...let's get this over with."


	3. Chapter 3: Mixing With Konoha

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.**

Chapter 3: Mixing With Konoha

When Naruto walked into the Kage's Office with Tsunami surrounded by a group of ANBU, he saw both his father Minato Namikaze and grandfather figure Hiruzen Sarutobi. There also was an Uchiha there: Kagami Uchiha, previous clan head of the Uchiha Clan based on Obito's memories, but he seemed less important than the two inspiring figures of Konoha's leadership in front of him. It was combination of military discipline and Obito's 'recent' memories that prevented Naruto from crying and running up to the two male role model figures for a hug.

Naruto simply stood as straight as possible, waiting for his Kage to address him. With his now coal black eyes, he looked around the room and noticed not much has changed. The Hokage red hat with the kanji for fire was hanging on the wall. The bookshelf with some novels were on the side of the room. The old chairs in front of the desk looked the same. The only difference was that there were more piles of paper laying on the desk.

While Naruto surveyed his surroundings, all three men could only gape internally at the man who proclaimed himself as Obito Uchiha dressed in a mix of Iwa and Kiri Shinobi clothes.

Minato knew in his heart that this was Obito the first time he saw his student. _After all, what kind of idiot would choose someone who died two weeks ago and walk right up the front entrance of an enemy village wearing said enemy village clothing? _He just wanted to figure out how his student survived and why he looked so drastically different.

Both Hiruzen and Kagami came up with the same conclusion as well, but as leaders, they could not show any indication of their feelings and had to prioritize the village safety first.

Hiruzen let out a cough which sounded like a grunt before addressing the shinobi in front of him, "Chunin Obito Uchiha, report! Start from the beginning of your mission."

And Naruto did. Following Obito's memories, he spoke of all the major key points leading up to the rock slide. Avoiding the topic of how Obito died, he went on about making his way back to the village while scavenging supplies from dead shinobi and avoiding enemy scouts and rescued a civilian in the process.

Hiruzen took a thoughtful frown throughout the story. After a silence, he asked a question that he wanted to know. "How did you survive when you were buried in the rock slide?"

"I unlocked my Mangekyo Sharingan that allowed me to perform a space-time ninjutusu."

All three men were shocked, but they all filed the information for later use.

"Show me." Hiruzen demanded.

Naruto sent chakra into his eyes, activating his red tomoe eyes that turned into spinning pinwheels. Then he used the Kamui in his right eye and started to walk forward. All the ANBU in the room tensed, but Hiruzen put his hand up as a signal to stand down. To the amazement of everyone, Obito went through the chair.

There was a silence that even shocked the hiding ANBU in the office. It took awhile for everyone to go to take in this amazement with everyone's minds were working fast. After all, it wasn't everyday where you see a person defies the law of physics by walking through a solid object.

None other than Kagami Uchiha was thinking of multiple ways how to use this to his advantage. This orphan Uchiha could be the person he was hoping for to bring back glory and prestige to the Uchiha clan back to the days of Madara. Although Kagami was a kind husband and honest leader in politics, he still had the Uchiha blood that demanded power. Seeing how a young shinobi of the Uchiha clan who is younger than the famed Uchiha Madara who evolved his eyes further, which was achieved by less than a dozen people since its discovery, with two new undocumented powers, made him break out a smile, destroying the Uchiha's stoic demeanor.

Recovering from this shock, the Kage asked a few more personal questions along with Minato before Hiruzen was able to acknowledge that the man in front of them was truly Obito Uchiha. Writing a couple of notes onto Obito's files before putting a stamp on the top right corner, he said, "Thank you Chunin Obito Uchiha. Please rest for two weeks and report back for duty with your sensei. I am glad you are back home."

With a nod and a smile, Obito stepped back a step to allow his grandfather figure to address the female next to him. While Tsunami and Hiruzen were talking, Obito needed to think about what to do. _I need to first get much stronger to survive the Third Shinobi War and make sure Konoha stays on top. Be strong enough to prevent the Kuruma from destroying the village if Madara decides to do the same plan but with another shinobi. Make sure Madara doesn't create the Fourth Shinobi War and send ideas to Minato-sensei to strengthen borders around Fire Country to prevent the Fifth War from breaking out. Just wonderful. And I gotta do all of this while making sure Danzo-teme and Orochimaru-teme don't try to take my eyes. And start a family. Can't forget about that. Then I gotta make a..._

"Obito!" Hiruzen barked out, breaking Obito from his brainstorming.

"Huh?"

"Tsunami-san here will be living with you since we don't have any available apartment complexes. Treat her well. Is that clear?"

"Understood!" Shivering from the glare, he gave a smile to Tsunami who looked like she won the lottery. With a tilt of his head, he was trying to figure out why she was so happy.

After all, no matter how much Naruto was opened to the idea of the wonders of the female flesh, he is still pretty dense about the opposite sex. Then again, he never had much experience in dating...and completely forgot about Hinata's crush on him.

~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~

Naruto/Obito walked through the roads of Konoha while talking to Tsunami. Although there was a war going on, he noticed most of the civilians were happy and determined, a striking contrast to the gloomy helplessness when word got out that Ame managed to be at the doorstep of Konoha. Some even nodded in respect to him which made him feel happy inside as both Naruto and Obito.

Walking through the Uchiha district was a surreal experience to him. He never stayed near the Uchiha district as a kid because they always tried to push some blame on him during his prank wars with the shopkeepers and never helped him when he was getting beaten up. WIth his teammate Sasuke, he always saw the district as a ghost town and only popped by to get Sasuke during missions. And in the Fifth war, the whole place was reduced to rubble.

Following the route from Obito's memories, he arrived to a modest house near the outskirts of the Uchiha compound that had two floors with some furniture and a lot of the Uchiha fan symbol hanging around the house. Opening the door, he allowed Tsunami in and went upstairs to his room.

It was then that exhaustion consumed him since Obito's body wasn't used to staying up for a whole week, regardless of the upgrade the body received from the Shinju Chakra. Making his way to the futon, Naruto fell down onto the cushion that consumed his mind and his body shut down. For the first time in ages, Naruto got a good night's worth of sleep without worrying about being in danger and forgot about the resident female currently residing in the house that he was supposed to take care of. He later felt like there was a nice smelling teddy bear next to him but the idea disappeared as sleep took over him. He smiled as he dreamed about swimming through ramen and...dango?

~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~

Naruto woke up the next morning to a warm ray of bright sunshine. Blocking it out with the pale backside of his arm, the Uzumaki turned Uchiha flipped himself over to the side with his back to the window, grumbling in his sleep as he blindly reached down to pull the white bed sheets over himself. To his surprise though, his fingers grabbed something smooth and fleshy. His hand right hand moved around to feel the fleshy blanket while his mind subconsciously was trying to recognize the texture and firmness he felt anywhere in his life but could not make a connection. His analysis was stopped to a halt as he heard an erotic moan nearby. An erotic moan next to him.

Opening his eyes and activating his sharingan. He slowly looked around the room, not fully recognizing where he was since he was still partially asleep. His other hand immediately went to the kunai under his potted plant Obito put there for safety on reflex.

Within miliseconds his brain rebooted as he realized he was sleeping in Obito's room. Fully awake, he gripped the kunai in preparation to stab the person right next to him. Turning over to look at the enemy, he finally saw what his hands were grabbing.

Let it be known that the 26 year old Naruto Uzu-turned-Uchiha did NOT scream like a girl.

~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~

After the fiasco with Tsunami that involved a lot of bowing and saying sorry, he left the house (with a big red hand print) after eating some of Tsunami's home made breakfast. Deciding to give the civilian some space to adjust to her new environment, Naruto went to the Uchiha training ground 83 to work out the chinks within his body. In the peacefully grassy environment, he went through his personalized katas to integrate Obito's knowledge on the Uchiha Inceptor Fist and using the Sharingan with it. His clones continued to work on Obito using elemental ninjutsu in the background.

After hours of nonstop movement, Naruto quickly sat down in a meditative position under a tree to feel the nature's energy. Although his contract with the Toads would be null, Naruto felt that he needed to prep his body so he could one day access Sage's mode. Despite his knowledge, it felt different to him. Instead of trying to coax the energy to enter into him, the energy just flowed through his body without trouble but he could not grab onto it.

Naruto thought that he couldn't gather the energy because Obito never had a Summoning Contract but Naruto dismissed the idea. After all, everyone could do it but they did not have the knowledge to do so. Instead he believed that Obito's Uchiha body is very different from his own body since Madara believed the Uchiha inherited the Sage's Yin chakra while the Senju inherited the Sage's Yang chakra.

Because he closed his eyes, he never saw the red pigment that was slowly appearing on Obito's face that resembled Hashirama's Sage Mode.

And that was how Naruto Uchiha spent the two weeks he had on his break while trying to avoid the current Team 7. He practiced his katas and elemental ninjutsu in the day and sat in the afternoon trying to go back in tune with nature. At night, he would stop by to help the Konoha elderly (a trait he inherited from Obito) and help Tsunami prepare dinner and unload her supplies. Within the two weeks, he steeled his heart to see his two teammates and sensei.

~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~

Naruto sat quietly in a tree reading one of the books he found in the Uchiha library. Using his Sharingan to memorize the text, he waited for Team 7 (or Team Minato) to appear while he learned some tricks with the Sharingan to use genjutsu. Apparently, the Uchiha library of jutsus was useless to him since he learned the most useful jutsus from Madara himself or from his allies in the wars.

Naruto also changed his clothes, in part because they are too small and wanted to wear Sasuke's attire he had during the Fourth Shinobi War in memory of his rivalry and sacrifice. So Naruto wore a high-collared black shirt that had a zipper that depicted the Uchiha fan on the back. He also wore a black cloth over his black ANBU pants with a red rope belt around his waist tied in a knot. He also wore his black ANBU boots to look presentable to his new/old team.

His reading came to an end when he noticed three familiar figures. Jumping down from his tree, he quickly looked at both of his teammates: Rin Nohara and Kakashi Hatake.

_Rin Nohara was Obito's crush who may have like Kakashi. She is the medic of the team and also plays peacemakers between us. Not noted for any major jutsu for fighting, she is a chunin like I am because of her intelligence and poisons. Plays a key role in Obito's descent to darkness._

_Kakashi Hatake, a jonin, is considered to be a genius among geniuses in his own right and created the Chidori (Lightning Release: One Thousand Birds) recently. A stickler for rules after his father's death and hates me because I am stupid. Well now, let show him how behind he really is. I still need revenge from the time he used Sennen Goroshi (One Thousand Years of Death)..._

"Dobe...you…" Kakashi gasped.

"Obito-kun…!" Rin spoke as her face turned into a red tomato.

"Well...hello." Naruto said with a Uchiha-like smirk that would have made Sasuke proud.


	4. Chapter 4: Marred by the Past

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.**

Chapter 4: Marred by the Past

"Die!"

Naruto smirk fell off his face when he saw the incoming Chidori (Lightning Release: One Thousand Birds) being moments away from spearing him in the chest. Not wanting to experience the lightning jutsu a second time, Naruto immediately leaned back fast enough so that the hand encased in lightning was just inches away from electrifying his face.

Letting himself fully fall to the ground, he used both hands to support himself on the dirt and performed a double mule kick to send his future sensei into the air. He was about to jump into the air to perform Sasuke's variant of the Omote Renge (Front Locus) - the Shishi Rendan (Lion's Barrage).

But before he was able to do so, something yellow flashed in his way and gripped his shoulder tightly. It was then he saw the serious face of the shinobi who would be the legendary Fourth Hokage of Konoha armed with steel blue eyes and a prominent frown.

"Kakashi..." Minato yelled at the silver-haired figure who was falling back down being accompanied with two Minato clones suppressing Kakashi's limbs, "what the _hell _are you doing?"

Landing back onto the earth, Kakashi let out a dog-like snarl at Naruto who looked just as confused as Rin was. He said angrily, "I don't care if our new teammate happens to be another Uchiha but he shouldn't replace _him_ by being called Obito."

"Huh?" Minato muttered confusedly, a statement that was internally echoed by the two other members of Team Minato.

Kakashi took a couple of deep breaths and within seconds erased all visible emotions just like Itachi. Then, he spoke with a whisper that was clearly heard by all. "Sensei, you said a week ago that the dobe survived and was going to be back on team."

"Indeed, he's right here. With us." Minato patted Naruto's shoulder for emphasis. Naruto tilted his head at his father in agreement.

"No… he is _not_ him." Kakashi glared at Naruto with such hatred that reminded him of one other person. "Remember Sensei, I can sense chakra. Although his chakra is similar to the dobe's, his chakra feels very different." Then his gaze moved to Minato, "Unless you can explain why his chakra is so different?"

"That's classified." Minato snapped back as he remembered the orders from his Kage. _No one knows a lot about the mysteries of the Mangekyo Sharingan considering how rare the advanced form of the dojutsu was unlocked and the Uchiha clan are very hush hush about it. Hokage-sama said that if what Obito said was true - unlocking the Mangekyo Sharingan changed his chakra - he didn't want the knowledge to get out to other villages to know that it was possible for an individual to change their chakra signature. Because if they did, they could learn some secrets on how to manipulate their signature to be just like any Konoha shinobi and easily infiltrate Konoha. And Obito-kun would be a prime target for any village for experimentation._

He let out an internal sigh as he could already visualize how many issues would pop up within the next couple of years because of Obito's reappearance. _And not just outside the village too_. A part of his mind whispered to him how much headaches the Uchiha Clan was going to kindly provide him in the near future.

"Then can you explain why he acts so different?" Kakashi said bitterly as he continued his questioning.

"Kakashi! Everyone would act different after being buried under a rock slide alive! And Obito was lucky enough to survive and be with us today."

"No! This person is NOT Obito! Obito is...he is...a freakin dobe. He is shorter. He definitely wears goggles. Definitely does not read scrolls in his free time. Wears stupidly bright orange and not a silent hawk on the tree. And does Obito does NOT come early for crying out loud!" The not-really-future-cyclops screamed to his teacher while his eyebrows were twitching in a rather sporadic manner.

"He IS Obito." Minato replied sagely as he rubbed his forehead in distress. He didn't really see the problem with Obito having a different chakra signature. _Maybe Obito's supposed death hurted Kakashi more than I thought?_

"No he is not Obito!" Kakashi barked.

"Yes he is!" Minato countered.

"No he is not."

While Minato and Kakashi was arguing about the identity of the Obito that was slowly evolving to a no holds barred fighting match, Naruto let out a small flinch when he realized why Kakashi reacted the way he did.

The textbook definition of chakra was that it combined both physical and spiritual energies. _Considering that this Kakashi is a sensor who probably remembered all the little intricacies of Obito's chakra signature, feeling Obito's new chakra that also had my chakra mixed in made him feel like I am a very different person. It doesn't help that I don't like a love sick puppy to Rin. But still, he should have more faith in his teammates! But most importantly, did sensei ever say he was a sensor? Did he not tell me, or is this a deviation in the timeline? More questions to answer..._

He let out a growl when the Obito part of him cried in sadness. The one person who Obito acknowledged as a friend and rival displayed his open hatred of him. Another part of him whispered that Kakashi was going to hate him just like…

Destroying that train of thought, Naruto used a shunshin to quickly leave the training ground quickly with a semi-determined gaze. _So how am I supposed to blend in with Team Minato. Damn it! I need to integrate back into the team so I can find Madara. Now I can't even look for the damn guy when Sensei will be suspicious of me! _

Flashes of dying friends blurred in Naruto's mind before settling on one image. He remembered every detail of the moment that would put the Sharingan to shame.

A man with crimson Sharingan eyes staring at him with his face inches away from his own, while his mouth was dripping vast amounts of blood. As the tomoe in the Sharingan slowly rotated one more time, Naruto could only remember how the man's mouth moved to form a word but no sound came out. _Live. _His mind supplied to him.

Naruto always dreamed how his friend's final words could have sounded, if Madara didn't destroy Sasuke's vocal cords with a Senpo: Inton: Raiha (Sage Art: Yin Release: Lightning Dispatch) aimed at the neck.

It was a dream that haunted Naruto most days since the take-down of Madara.

Naruto vowed that he would kill Madara in this time period to stop all the misery and destruction the older Uchiha's machinations had and will cause. And he would make sure his new Sharingan would remember every detail of it.

Unknown to Naruto, his black eyes quickly evolved into their Mangekyou form as if the eyes themselves agreed to this vow. But what would have been more concerning if a bystander saw Naruto was the hint of madness that lurked in those crimson eyes.

~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~

When Rin received news from Minato-sensei that her teammate, Obito, somehow survived and was now safely in Konoha, she was absolutely thrilled. And a little anxious when she was going to meet up with Obito.

Like the rest of Team Minato, she despaired that one of the few people she was close with had passed on to the next world in a horrible manner. But unlike the rest of the team, she believed that it was her being kidnapped directly led to Obito's death.

She was helpless against the Iwa shinobi who kidnapped her and forced Kakashi and Obito to abandon the mission to save her. Although she was proud that her medic-nin lessons prevented her from giving out any crucial information during the genjutsu integration, she still felt weak and very much a burden on the team.

After the failed mission, Rin retreated into the hospital where she would continue her long time job of healing patients. However, her sanctuary of stability crumbled when she could not properly diagnose a patient's condition without seeing Obito's dead body. In the end, her boss forced her to take a week off to recover.

It didn't help one bit.

Some days would end in nightmares that would illustrate Obito screaming in pain under rocks while bleeding everywhere while others would show a bloodied Obito staring at her angrily as he mouthed the words "traitor". Although she did go to see a psychologist in hopes the pain would fade, her life felt absolutely miserable. With no Minato or Kakashi for help (since they were also dealing with their own guilt), Rin was left suffering on her own with a massive posttraumatic stress disorder.

After Minato announced Obito's return one day, Rin ran around Konoha as fast as she could to find Obito. But to her disappointment, the cute boy was nowhere to be found. She wanted to say so many things to him: to apologize for being weak, to thank him for all the support he gave her, to say that she couldn't accept his feelings so he could find another to love, and much much more. It was a catharsis of emotions that made Rin try day after day to find Obito whenever she had time so she could just say something to him. But she never did. It was like as if sensei's words were a dream and Obito never survived the rock slide. Only the reassuring of the elderly folks who Obito helped recently continued to convince her that she was just unlucky and missed him.

When the team finally got back together, everything that was on the tip of her tongue evaporated like air. She could only stare blankly at the handsome figure that was Obito Uchiha. The piercing coal black eyes paired with a familiar Uchiha smirk. The angular chin and wavy black hair with some strands of white mixed in. The fashionable battle kimono that hugged every contour of his body while he walked towards them like a cat prowling on a hunt. Only one thought ran through Rin's mind as she was completely stunned by the new Obito. _Oh my god! Obito became a hunk! Kaaaaaaaa!_

It was until her sensei, Minato, started yelling which broke her attempt to "overly" analyze all of the changes Obito had made within the month, that she saw Kakashi glaring at Obito. What was supposed to be a happy reunion evolved into a shouting match between sensei and Kakashi while Obito was becoming increasingly alienated.

When Obito disappeared, Rin also left without the knowledge of the two other males. She was determined to make her amends known and then she would find a way to become stronger. A lot stronger. _Only then, will Team Minato will be back together. Like a happy family once again…_

It's such a shame that a simple plan will be broken beyond repair whenever an unpredictable individual such as Naruto gets involved in the equation.

~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~

Appearing at his home, he looked through the window to see Tsunami happily preparing tonight's dinner while whistling a catchy tune. When he was about to open the red door to grab a bite to snack on, images of his dying bloodied friends invaded his mind. Unconsciously activating the red dojutsu, his grip on the door handle was getting tighter. He felt agony flow through his veins as the images continued to run rampant in his mind with pictures of bodies of children being buried, villages burning, and great leaders beheaded in front of hundreds. Ignorant of the now destroyed door handle, emotions flashed through Naruto's eyes before landing on regret.

_Haku… you said that I can only be strong if I have precious people. Yet I failed. I'm still weak. If you were with me now...would you frown at me for agreeing with Madara? I think...I think the more I'm living with the sins of the past. Everyday, I-I slowly believe Madara was right. I-_

"Uchiha-sama." A voice broke out of his thoughts that originated behind him.

Naruto quickly turned around to see a stoic clan member of his new clan. Quickly destroying any trace of emotion on his face, he raised an eyebrow visible for the man to see.

"Kagami-sama wishes to see you immediately."

Naruto quickly glanced back to his house to see Tsunami stopped chopping the daikon to questionly look at him. Quickly giving a reassuring smile and wave, he received a bashful smile in return before continuing to dice the vegetable. Turning his head to look at the distant family member, he nodded his head in agreement like any Uchiha.

Communication between the two individuals was wordless since both were fluent in the Uchiha language. With a couple of grunts, hns, and facial movements, Naruto agreed to allow the man to escort him through the lively Uchiha district to a familiar house for a meeting with the Clan Head.

As the man opened the wooden entrance for Naruto to enter, Naruto could only remember the words Madara said to him when he mockingly stepped on the dead body of his best friend.

"You ask why I am willing to do this stupid idea of creating a false reality when you are already blinded by the reality before you. How ignorant. This world is full of things that don't go as you wish boy. The longer you live, the more you destroy that childhood naivety Uzumaki. You might be an adult under the law when you adorn that headband but you are still blinded by your illusions. You aren't a real shinobi; you are merely a child playing as a shinobi. Open your eyes! Realize that reality is made upon the emotions of pain, suffering, and emptiness. Only then you will realize how much the world has taken from you...and how powerless you are to stop it. That is why Hashirama failed. He was still blinded by the illusions of reality all the way till his death and thus could not bring peace. Instead, he brought more war when the world needed less."

When he entered the courtyard, Naruto saw a stoic four year old Itachi Uchiha stare back at him with the single tomoe Sharingan eyes.

"Only an Uchiha blessed with the Sharingan can break through this illusion and see reality for what it really is. It doesn't matter what age or how strong the Uchiha must be. This is what the Sage of Six Paths gifted to us. Not eyes that allows us to understand jutsu at a fundamental level or allows us to easily utilize genjutsu with a single glance. But rather eyes to see how the world truly is. But while few are blessed with these gifts, only the very few individuals who embrace this reality unlocks the Mangekyo Sharingan and gives them the chance to change it for the better. Amaterasu. Tsukuyomi. Susanoo. Kamui. Kotoamatsukami. Izanami. Izanagi. These are the powers that the Sage has given us in hopes that we can finish his work and establish peace across the Elemental Nations. We are the Sage's instruments. The Uchiha. Not the Senju. Not the Uzumaki. And definitely not the Hyuga. We are the chosen ones granted this noble power at a price. If we sacrifice our vision, we allow the rest of the world to see our vision triumph over reality. This is why I carry out the Infinite Tsukuyomi. To ensure no one can ever suffer like my Otouto."

Naruto simply stared back stoically with his own tri-tomoe.

Itachi turned off his Sharingan and let a small smile come to his face. "Hi nii-san!". He quickly ran towards Naruto and hugged him. "I'm glad your back. Kaa-san said that you wouldn't come back for a long time. But now, you're here! Can you please teach me a new fire jutsu?"

"Maybe later." Naruto said as he also turned off his own dojutsu. Following Obito's memories, he patted the once feared Uchiha Itachi on the head. Itachi pouted like a chipmunk at his request being denied while Naruto thought it made the boy look cute. Then he just realized he called a future S-ranked ninja cute. _I think I may need to see a psychologist soon. Seriously, to think I would say cute and Itachi in the same sentence. Though, I'm glad I am not saying YOUTH every 30 seconds or so..._

"Itachi, let Obito-kun talk to your Jiji. Get in here and help me set up the table!" A feminine voice from the house called out.

"Okay kaa-san!" Itachi hugged Naruto tightly one more time before dashing to the house - allowing Naruto to continue his reflection as he slowly followed Itachi.

_And now the Sage himself has given me the chance to create peace. Maybe Madara was right in the end, it would be impossible to create a world without pain. He may be a bastard, but he was always a great philosopher at heart. But the question is...is it worth it anymore? If someone like the great Hashirama failed to bring peace...then how can I do it without the world becoming a lie? Second chances don't mean anything if I also fail._

_No...let's take baby steps first before I start jumping through trees. I need to protect Konoha first. Then I can have children who won't suffer like I did in my childhood if I stop the Fourth and Fifth Shinobi War from breaking out. And staying with Team Minato won't help my goal either. Maybe I should just screw up the whole timeline since my presence has already done a great job of doing it with Inari. If Shika was here, he would know what to do…_


	5. Chapter 5: Paving The Road to Hell

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.**

Chapter 5: Paving The Road to Hell

Entering the Uchiha Clan Head's dwelling invoked a lot of good and familiar memories for Obito. Every week, Obito loved to stop by whenever he had some free time to teach Itachi a new trick he learned in the Ninja Academy. While Obito wasn't a good teacher by any stretch of the imagination, Itachi was intelligent enough to fill in the missing gaps in order to understand what Obito was trying to teach him. Everything from shurikenjutsu to using chakra to augment taijutsu was taught to the young heir. This allowed Itachi to reach the level of genin at the age of four before he was allowed into the academy for two more years - during wartime standards.

Unknowingly, Obito cemented himself as a wise teacher and an inspiring person that Itachi wanted to also be. Itachi would tell his immediate family about Obito's passionate dream of becoming Hokage, who would then spread the knowledge to the rest of the clan. By doing so, the whole Uchiha clan knew about Obito's dream and was willing to support Obito when the time was right for him to become Hokage.

They reasoned that if Obito could teach Itachi how to do a successful Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu (FIre Release: Great Fireball Technique) to pass the Uchiha Rite of Passage at such at the unprecedented age of four, then Obito had the potential to lead Konoha into greater prosperity with the Uchiha at the helm. While many believed that Obito was not a prodigy, he had the potential to be at least an A-rank shinobi considering the amount of passion and drive he had. Coupled with his massive creativity, as seen through his many pranks at the Hyuga that the Uchiha secretly approved, Obito had the clear markings of a jutsu creator.

Thus, when Kakashi received Obito's Sharingan in the original timeline, many were outraged over the death and desecration of a well-known and loved individual in the Uchiha community.

But Obito, and now Naruto, didn't know any of this. Naruto only knew that he was warmly welcomed into the clan head family since he did a fantastic job teaching the future clan head. That is why Naruto wasn't surprised when he found himself greeting by a familiar calm face that subtly expressed happiness, Kagami Uchiha.

Noted as the grandfather of Sasuke, Kagami was best remembered in history as the Teikoku Hinoarashi (Imperial Fire Storm) of Konoha during the First Shinobi World War. Ranked as an A-class shinobi, his impressive fire release techniques including the awe-inspiring Katon: Goka Mekkyaku (Fire Release: Majestic Destroyer Flame) which allowed him to annihilate swaths of shinobis and played a crucial role in destroying key enemy formations. He was also remarked as one of the few Uchiha's who was the closest to reaching the level of the Madara Uchiha before he was forced to retire early at the age of fifteen due to a leg injury.

"Kagami-sama." Naruto bowed to the Uchiha as his voice took on a warm inflection at the sight of Obito's surrogate father figure.

"Obito, I'm glad you're back. Many missed your… bolstering presence." Kagami replied with a tint of mirth. "Some more than others."

"Indeed Kagami-sama. The little ones were a little more excited than usual." Naruto agreed, as he remembered being swarmed by many Uchiha kids who were just as happy that their older brother figure survived the clutches of death. Naruto was really surprised by how much the Uchiha loved Obito considering Kakashi-sensei told him during the war that Obito was isolated from the rest of the clan. _Which begs the question, a divergence in the world or Kakashi's inaccurate observations?_

"Oh? I was refering to my daughter. Word of your death saddened her greatly until you came back." Kagami said friendly before it slowly turned wrathful. "Which begs the question. _Why_ haven't you visited her earlier? You were here for _two whole weeks_ and I have not seen one hair of you since. Would you care to explain? Hmm?" By the end, Kagami's tone turned arctic as his activated Sharingan drilled holes into Naruto.

Naruto let out a gulp as he was quickly trying to find an excuse not to piss off the Uchiha. Obito's memories involving Kagami's wrath never ended well for Obito at all while Naruto was really freaked out by how vengeful the man could be to his enemies which made his childhood pranks look like harmless parties. "Um...I-I...uh...was…doing..."

"Was doing…?" Kagami repeated mockingly as he folded his arms as the crimson dojutsu continued to stare at the trembling figure at the entrance of the house. "Tell me Obito…" the man said as his eyebrow was visibly twitching "was that civilian at your house occupying so much of that useless space in your head you called a brain? Do you have any decency to act like a mature Uchiha shinobi when you have guests?"

"I…" Naruto was flabbergasted by how Sasuke's grandfather came to a far-fetched conclusion that involved him and Tsunami. But before he could answer, someone else did.

"Father, could you please stop being mean to Obito-kun? I'm sure he was just busy." A female voice cheerfully broke through the tension between the two males.

Naruto, thankful for the save, turned to see a female Uchiha striding confidently towards them. Mikoto Uchiha. Dressed in a simple navy blue shirt and shorts, the female cut out an imposing yet beautiful figure that highlighted all the right curves to Naruto's secret delight. If Tsunami was the cute yet voluptuous farmer, Mikoto was the elegant female kunoichi with a hint of aristocratic maturity. Armed with firm a pair of C-cup breasts and slender long legs, her glowing coal-black eyes bore into any male who was lucky enough to receive her attention. _Wow. She's a ten alright, maybe an eleven or a twelve or a freakin thirteen! I can't wait until she gets older..._

When that thought passed through the time-traveler's mind, Naruto mentally banged his head on the wall repeatedly for checking out Sasuke's married mom. _Oh god, Ero-sennin will not live me through this one. Thank Kami that he is in heaven right now. At least, back at home he is..._

"Nee-san!" Naruto reflexively replied as memories of Sasuke's mother acted as a surrogate older sister for Obito.

Mikoto Uchiha walked up to Naruto and gave him a tight hug. Doing his best to hide his embarrassed blush when he felt her assets on his chest, Naruto reciprocated the hug while mentally noting that he was taller than her by a couple more inches.

She must have noticed that as well when an appraising look crossed her face. "You got taller Obito! Have you been drinking your milk recently? I thought you would never sprout up like a tree." She said mischievously as she brought her hand up to her head to compare how tall Obito was to her.

Naruto grumbled about how mean she was. Stepping back from the hug, Naruto smiled at Itachi's mother. "It's good to see you again nee-san. How's Itachi now these days?"

"He is doing great. He was recently thinking of picking up kenjutsu after seeing you wave a sword around two months ago."

"I was not waving a sword around! I was practicing my katas!" Naruto pouted. He mentally laughed that Obito was trying and failing miserably at trying to act "cool" like Kakashi. _At least, I did a better job wooing Sakura! At least I think..._

"Really?" Mikoto said incredulity. "It looked like you were trying to chop your arm off."

"Moh! I was practicing a new form that I learned! It wasn't my fault that I turned your bushes red." Naruto winced at how weak that argument was. _Why the hell am I acting so childish? Does Obito have that much of an influence on me? This bears investigation..._

"Indeed, it's the sword's fault. I'm sorry for not realizing it sooner!" She said sarcastically. Before Obito's personality was able to dig Naruto into a bigger hole, his "disciple" saved him.

"Kaa-san! The food looks like it's on fire!" Itachi yelled out from inside the house. Realizing that food was still cooking on the stove, Mikoto immediately dashed into the house as she tried to save her food for lunch.

She yelled back at Naruto. "Sorry Obito-kun! I'll talk to you later. I'm just glad you're safe."

"Bye nee-san. I'll be stopping by to teach Itachi in a couple of days." Naruto waved at the disappearing female.

Kagami let out a small snicker at the drama between the two Uchihas. Letting out a loud grunt to attract the attention of Obito, he said, "Anyway, I called you here Obito because the elders wish to discuss what you have recently gained." His eyes flashed red quickly before turning back to coal-black.

Naruto, understanding the topic, nodded his head. "Now?"

"No." Kagami said as he handed him a scroll. "This has all the instructions for the location of the meeting tomorrow at midday. Make sure to dispose of it."

"Understood Kagami-sama." Naruto said as he pocketed the scroll in his kimono.

"Will you join us for lunch?" The A-rank shinobi questioned.

"I apologize, but I have other things to attend to." Naruto said earnestly.

"Acceptable. Have a great day Obito-kun." Kagami smiled before he slowly walked into the house. Then he turned his neck back to stare at Obito. "I trust you will tell no one of this. Correct?"

"Huh? I'm sorry, did we say something Kagami-sama?" Naruto replied innocently as he quoted from his sensei that was currently not his sensei.

Kagami just shaked his head in amusement and continued to head to the kitchen for his burnt lunch based off the smell he was smelling.

~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~

Leaving the house, Naruto looked at the sky and noted that he had a couple more hours before dinner. Mentally, he drooled at the delicious stew Tsunami was going to make. He was very happy at the warm feeling of coming home with someone making dinner for him everyday. _I think I should take Tsunami out for dinner soon. It shouldn't be healthy staying in my house all day and I really need to thank her for all the good food she made for me. But where should I take her? Hmm… Ooooh! I haven't had some ramen in a long time! Maybe I should take her out for Ramen Ichiraku._

Mentally envisioning the delicious ramen that he was going to fill up his stomach with, Naruto let out a true relaxing smile. _Man, it feels great to be home. _Instead of walking back home, Naruto went into the opposite direction where the Uchiha Market District was to find a particular shop based off Obito's memories and grabbed a quick dango snack along the way.

Finding the simple shop, Naruto opened the door to see racks upon racks of various weapons from the simple kunai to exotic weapons like the hook swords. Looking around, he found the individual he was looking for.

The old man grunted as he walked out from the back with a box full of shuriken. Putting the box down onto the counter, he looked up to see a familiar face. "Obito!" The old man said jovially as he walked to Naruto. "Its great to see you again. Thank you for helping my wife out yesterday with the groceries."

"It's no problem Koharu-jiji. Anyway, can I use the forge in the back? I have a project I want to complete and I already have all the materials ready to go."

"It's all yours boy." The elderly Uchiha patted Naruto on the shoulder kindly. "You helped us so much over the years so it's the least I can do. But make sure to holler if you need anything."

"Thanks Jiji." Naruto bowed in thanks before he headed off to the back of the shop where he can start building his favorite weapon that he was missing.

~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~

An Uchiha forge was a unique forge that could not be found anywhere else in the Elemental Nations. Built to withstand high temperatures, this forge allowed Uchihas to utilize their strong fire nature to build weapons out of tough chakra metal. Furthermore, the use of the Sharingan allowed them to accurately pinpoint the minor flaws in a weapon effortlessly. This caused Uchiha-made weapons be always of high quality and very expensive. These weapons are so expensive that 34% of the income the Uchiha clan makes comes from supplying basic weapons although that number has recently risen to 72% with the war going on. That is why every Uchiha must learn how to use the Uchiha forge when they reach chunin.

Obito, and now Naruto, was no different. Already understanding all the various tools in this very heated workplace, Naruto used Kamui (Authority of the Gods) to bring out all the supplies he needed from his own personal dimension: 5 pounds of sensitive grade A chakra metal, 5 gallons of extracted blood, and a paint brush.

Wiping the blood that was leaking from his right eye, Naruto used a kunai machine cutter to start cutting the chakra metal into the right amounts. Then, he spent hours to flatten the pieces with the hammer as he lightly infused Lightning chakra into the metal.

Once Naruto was satisfied with the pieces of metal pounded, he poured out the gallons of his blood into a huge metal bucket to cool down the metal. His own blood was used as a medium to allow Naruto to easily direct as much senjutsu chakra as possible to the boiling blood and imprint his own chakra signature onto the weapon quickly.

Naruto ignored the little part of his mind that he was going to bring back a weapon that would be the cause of thousands upon thousands of deaths. Considering how easy it was for someone to use this weapon with little training, Naruto felt like he was going to condemn this world to the ugly and destructive warfare seen in the Fifth Shinobi World. Taking a deep breath, Naruto would stand resolute in his decision. Pulling the metals drenched in blood, he used his Sharingan to inspect it for any possible fractures.

_Its for the sake of Konoha. _Naruto reasoned to himself. _So they will not have to suffer again._ Grabbing the hammer, he pounded onto the metal. _Yes...it's all for the greater good._

~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~

Unlike the basic manufactured chakra rifles in Naruto's home dimension that shot spheres of chakra, Naruto was making his personal rifle that he built himself.

Griefed with the death of Sasuke, Naruto successfully pleaded to Kakashi to teach him the Chidori (Lightning Release: One Thousand Birds). Despite all that effort, Naruto could not utilize the S-rank jutsu in battle effectively since he never had a Sharingan to use it with. Then, he tried to recreate all of the other Chidori variants Sasuke created since they didn't require a Sharingan - Chidori Nagashi (Lightning Release: One Thousand Birds Current), Chidori Senbon (Lightning Release: One Thousand Birds Senbon), and Chidori Eiso (Lightning Release: One Thousand Birds Sharp Spear) - but failed considering he didn't have the needed chakra control in relation to his chakra reserves.

However, Naruto was still very determined to remind himself of Sasuke's sacrifice by implementing some type of Chidori into his fighting style. Then he had an idea: if he couldn't do chakra control, make someone else do it for him. Using the similar ideology of using Kage Bushin no Jutsu (Shadow Clone Technique) to create the Rasengan (Spiralling Sphere) and their subsequent variants, Naruto used the shape barrel of chakra rifles as a way to achieve a higher level of chakra control.

After much trial and error, Naruto could proudly say that he found a unique way to mimic the Chidori Eiso (Lightning Release: One Thousand Birds Sharp Spear). But also, he increased its killing potential triple fold by magnifying how far he could use the weapon to pierce an enemy and its piercing power. Kakashi remarked to him that he made Chidori Eiso, an A-rank technique, become Chidori Reza (Lightning Release: One Thousand Birds Laser), a S-rank technique, and that Sasuke would be proud of Naruto for greatly improving one of his own jutsu creations.

~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~

"Welcome back to the world…" Naruto mumbled to the completed weapon laying on the table, "Mikazuchi…"

Wiping off the sweat that was accumulating on his forehead from working nonstop for five hours, Naruto looked his newest masterpiece with proudness and a hint of nostalgia. Standing at 125.7 centimeters in length, 10.1 centimeters in width and 32 centimeters in height, Mikazuchi weighed in at 13.2 kilograms. She featured an angular geometric design and metallic casing that included a stock, a firing grip, a stabilizing firing grip, a scope with a 4x zoom magnification, and a channel matrix barrel (Halo Light Rifle).

Marveling at the elegance and beauty of the deadly killing machine he had created, Naruto infused a sealless Chidori in his right hand when he gripped the handle. The absorption of pure senjutsu chakra during her construction process allowed his Chidori lightning to effortlessly flow through the weapon's chakra channels seamlessly and lighted up the channel matrix barrel with a bright red glow of electricity.

Naruto let out a chuckle that progressed into laughter when he considered how quick and easy it is to make a weapon that would change the face of the Elemental Nations permanently within the next decade or so.

"Obito-kun, are you alright in there? I heard some loud noises that sounded like birds chirping. Do you need help in there?" Koharu asked.

"No Koharu-jiji." Naruto replied back as he gazed at the weapon foundly that felt so comfortable, so right, in his hands which spoke volumes about how much he used his chakra rifle. "I don't need any help…"

"Alright then. Make sure you show me what you made in there when you're done. I can already tell it's going to be something great considering that I can hear how happy you are in there from outside the shop."

"Indeed Jiji. She is something great. Indeed she is." The Uzu-Uchiha replied with a tint of sadness. _She's gonna to make the whole world be dyed in blood._ He thought guiltily. _And I'm going to make her even stronger than her last iteration._ Powering down the rifle and grabbing the paint brush, he dipped its tip into the pool of blood before writing tiny characters on the weapon. _Hmm...maybe I should add a camo design on her later… She seems kinda bland at the moment. Orange perhaps?_

A/N:

Thank you so much for all the heartwarming reviews. Your support is driving me to continue writing chapters quickly!

Anyway, I am surprised by how many of you want an older girl harem. So I decided to tease you guys on our next (obvious) harem member. However, you guys won't see much instant romance develop between Naruto and Mikoto since I am trying to not fall under the harem cliche of: girl A sees male and immediately falls in love for X reason. My goal is to slowly develop the romance aspect between Naruto and various girls over a longer period of time. So, I'm sorry if this isn't the type of harem story you were looking for.

Another thing that many of you brought up that I am trying not to do is make Naruto/Obito too overpowered. My plan was to establish him as a mid-rank S class shinobi who could easily kill 98% of all shinobi but he won't be able curb stomp everyone. At the present moment, he would be able to somewhat fight Madara equally in his prime in the right circumstances but he has no hope of winning against Madara's Jinchuriki Form. Adding the chakra rifle in the mix may make him seem way too strong, but it is a precision weapon used only for long range engagements. Shinobi currently fight in close quarters combat 99% of the time so Naruto won't be using the rifle all the time.


	6. Chapter 6: Mirrored Love

A/N: Wow! I'm really surprised by the divided viewpoints surrounding the Naruto x Mikoto pairing considering most of you wanted to see the pairing. Maybe you guys didn't like how I set up the weird dynamic they currently have and how it would eventually fall into romance? Anyway, here are some important questions/statements you guys have been asking/made in the review section.

Q&amp;A Section:

MonkHerrick: Is Shisui Uchiha going to be in the story at all?

He is teased in this chapter, but I'm still trying to figure out how much of a pivotal role he will play. Itachi will play an important role in Naruto's character development, so you will see some Shisui appearance. How much is currently undecided.

Angsty Naruto: Not a huge fan of the rifle...but as long as it is used maybe once or twice, I can live with that.

The Chakra Rifle will only be used in small unimportant skirmishes. I planned on using the rifle to advance the plot a little a couple of times in the future. Currently, it doesn't have much widespread use except for assassination missions since Third Shinobi War warfare isn't WWII style fighting. I mainly included it in there considering that logic that if I would go back in time, I would try to replicate my current technology in the past in hopes it would give me some sort of an advantage.

Writter with bad Grammar T-T: Are you telling me a married woman/mother fell in love with Obito who is currently twelve at the moment? Naruto isn't immoral enough to steal someone else's wife.

In the note section of chapter 5, I mentioned that you won't see much instant romance development between the two characters. For a good chunk of the story, Obito and Mikoto will have a brother to sister relationship until a major plot point occurs. Anyway, I'm frown upon cheating in a relationship so you can rest assured that you won't see any of that stuff here.

Akira Stridder: Why does he not spam Kage Bushin with the rifle and form his own army?

You brought up a good point that I kinda addressed in this chapter. Your idea is a valid one, until you realize that Naruto currently isn't a jinchuriki anymore. So, he doesn't have the endless amounts of chakra he used to have. It would cost lots of chakra and time to form Kage Bushin and Kage Bushin the rifle, and then using Chidori lightning to fire the weapon. Instead he could just use a Rasengan jutsu for a close range attack or manipulate the battlefield to make the enemy come closer to use his close/mid range jutsus.

~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

Chapter 6: Mirrored Love

Naruto was proud to say that Mikazuchi Mark II, painted with a mix of orange and baby-blue stripes (Halo 5 Dying Star Light Rifle), was a success. The liberal use of Fuinjutsu seals painted on the outside allowed him to achieve two important things: it allowed him to infuse his Chidori lightning quietly and place a blood identification tracker on the weapon. Anyone else that would attempt to use Mikazuchi without his approval would find themselves being electrocuted.

Showing his creation to Koharu-jiji, Uchiha Naruto pretended the weapon was instead a model of a futuristic flying ship - detailed with the highly advanced technology of Sky Village - that happened to light up when lightning chakra was applied. While Obito knew plenty about the man's trustworthy nature, the time-traveling shinobi didn't want word getting out about the capabilities of chakra rifles too fast or he might miss the slim window of opportunity to shoot through Madara's brain. Hiding the weapon in his new favorite place, Kamui's Dimension, the Uchiha swiftly returned home.

~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~

There, Naruto was engulfed with the warm feeling of companionship when he saw Tsunami waiting patiently for him at the dinner table. Entering the doorway, he announced his presence. "Tadaima (I'm home)!"

"Okaeri (Welcome Back)." The female replied as she turned to seeing Naruto walking in the house dressed in a simple yukata with some soot. She gave a demure smile as she stood up to meet him.

"I'm sorry Tsunami-chan. Clan business took a little longer than expected." Naruto informed bashfully as he reflexively rubbed the back of his head. The shinobi ignored the sharp feeling of betrayal when he just lied right in front of the kind-hearted person in his old dimension.

"It's alright. I'm glad you're back." Tsunami admitted as she happily hugged her savior - ignoring the soot on his person. The ex-farmer took the time to enjoy the warmth of his presence and took a small sniff of her companion. She unconsciously smiled at the comforting scent of Naruto's earthy smell of Maple Trees along with a fresh tint of coal, ash, metal and perfume.

_Wait, what? _

Sniffing again to make sure she wasn't imagining things, she let out some extreme expletives mentally when she confirmed she smelled a slight but feminine chrysanthemum perfume on the man.

_Oh...so someone hugged Obito-kun as well. Who else could like him? No, no Tsunami...It could just be a friendly hug._ One side whispered to her angelically. The other side spoke in a sensual voice that gave her an opposing idea. _On the other hand, it could be someone marking OUR man. Tsunami, you must move in immediately and make your presence felt. I recommend using the bed to show how much you LOVE him..._ At that extremely suggestive thought, Tsunami broke into a very prominent blush that covered her face like a future Hyuga.

While Tsunami was going through the possible scenarios that led to Naruto acquiring female perfume on his person, Naruto was happily enjoying the mental comfort Tsunami provided him through the hug. Ever since the time-traveler landed in this new dimension, he was feeling very homesick since none of his friends were even born yet, and Jiraiya-sensei was nowhere to be found.

But most importantly, Naruto felt very out of place in Team Minato. The Obito part of him disliked Kakashi's recent animosity while the larger Naruto part could not reconcile the laid-back and perverted Kakashi of the future with the current stick-in-his-ass Kakashi. Even with the whole Uchiha Clan treating him as family, Naruto still felt lonely since he never really had a family in the first place.

So Tsunami was steadily becoming Naruto's rock of stability since she was the only constant thing in his life. Her kind and motherly attitude was something Naruto could expect everyday from the past and the future. Furthermore, she was doing a great job healing the mental wounds he had. Everything else in this parallel or alternate dimension was too alien for Naruto, even the Hokage - who did not act much like the grandfather figure Naruto remembered him as.

Naruto reciprocated the hug before separating. He raised an eyebrow at how scarlet her face was but he decided not to pry and went to the dinner table to sit. Watching the female walk back to her respective chair across from him, he was quickly reminded of Hinata with her embarrassed ruby face and meek body language. Naruto hastily drowned that thought into the ocean mentally as he definitely did not want to open another can of emotions; he was not ready to deal with more baggage at the moment.

After both saying a quick "Itadakimasu", Naruto and Tsunami quietly enjoyed Tsunami's stew together. There was not much talk between the two individuals considering that Naruto was gratified to enjoy the multitude of flavors that burst in his mouth from the farmer's cuisine. After all, he used to live solely on military rations. Tsunami, on the other hand, was just content to observe Naruto enjoy her food.

After minutes of eating, Tsunami stood up with her plate and utensils and placed them on to the side of the sink. Turning on the faucet, Tsunami started to wash the dishes and place them on the drying rack. When Naruto finished the rest of the stew, he poured himself some tea while Tsunami gathered his dishes.

Taking a sip of the warm liquid, Naruto decided to break the peaceful silence first. "Tsunami-chan, you have been staying here for two weeks. I am very much grateful for all the help you have given me, but... don't you want to buy your own house if you plan to live in Konoha?"

He received his response in the form of a plate being dropped. Tsunami yelped when a shard cut her finger. Naruto quickly moved to see her finger bleeding. But before he was about to say something, the words halted in his mouth when he saw the hollow look in her eyes.

Ignoring the pain of her injury, Tsunami muttered dejectedly, "Do you want me to leave?" as she remembered the horrible incident with the bandits. She could still feel the phantom hands of the men that wanted to have their turn to violate her and enjoy her suffering. The only silver lining from these reoccurring nightmares was waking up to feel Obito's comforting warmth as he reassured her that she was safe. If Obito wanted her to leave, she would be all alone again.

She did not know what was scarier: reliving the moment where she was almost sexually assaulted or not waking up to be comforted by Obito.

Naruto quickly realized that she was having her flashbacks again - based on his past experience with shinobis reliving a traumatic experience. Hugging her, he rubbed her back in soothing circles. "No, you don't need too if you don't want to." Naruto whispered apologetically as he did his best to alleviate the mental pain his companion was suffering from. "Although it would be a lot more lonelier in this house if you wish to do so."

"No. Um, uh...no...I am fine living here." She replied distressingly before she trailed off uncertainly. "I feel much safer with you...here." Closing her eyes, she hugged Naruto tightly as she inhaled his comforting scent as tears fell from her face.

Naruto was speechless and - instead of putting his foot in his mouth like he tended to do in delicate situations - he quietly kept his arms around the anguished woman. He didn't know who was in the worst shape. Him, who could not absolve himself from the sins of the past. Or Tsunami, a peaceful civilian who was abortive in her attempts to forget how powerless she was in the face of her sexual assault.

Nevertheless, it didn't matter to Naruto. _After all, we have each other to get through this together.. I am not alone anymore…thank you Rikudo Sennin. _

As Tsunami pulled back reluctantly after the pair stayed together for a couple of minutes, Naruto remembered the bleeding finger. Going through the nearby cupboards for the first-aid kit, Naruto put the bleeding finger in the mouth. Ignorant of the deep crimson flush that painted Tsunami's face, he took out a simple red band-aid with three tomoe. While he was taking the finger out of his mouth and putting the band-aid on, he asked candidly "I have been meaning to ask you this. Do you want to eat out for dinner tomorrow night?"

"Like a date?" She said with great alacrity before she covered her mouth in embarrassment. The pain on her finger was quickly forgotten as she focused on his next words.

"Sure." Naruto acknowledged playfully as he stood up. "It could be a date if you like. I imagine cooking dinner and cleaning the house for the two of us everyday is very exhausting. I think you need a night out."

"Oh…" She squeaked. Mustering up her courage, she looked up at Naruto and stared in his eyes like a shy mouse and whispered. "Can it...?"

"Of course Tsunami-chan." Naruto suavely moved his face so close that Tsunami could feel his warm breath brush against her face, inadvertently tempting her at how close his alluring lips was to hers. "It can…" He hummed thoughtfully as he ignored the pain in his heart at acting like this with another woman beside _her_.

It was then Naruto saw the image of Tsunami overlap with a feminine Hyuga wearing a blindfold stained with blood. Pulling back instantly, Naruto went to the sink to pick up the pieces of shattered glass while trying to ignore the haunting acrid images of another person he failed. _She reminds me of a mix of Hinata-chan and her…_ he thought wistfully.

He turned his head to look back at his female companion - who was currently berating himself for not taking the opportunity Obito presented to her. His voice brought her back to the present. "We need to dry the dishes you know, Tsunami-chan." Shaking herself out of her stupor, she bowed her head in embarrassment before joining Naruto at the sink to wash dishes together like a married couple.

There wasn't much talk after.

~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~

The pair quietly walked upstairs. Undeterred by the darkness, the moon did a fantastic job shining the path for the pair to effortlessly move through the house to their respective futons. As if the house itself was holding its breath, the only sound that could be heard was the pitter-patter of Tsunami's movements.

When they arrived in the hallway, Naruto was about to head into his room to get some rest. But before he was able to enter, a feminine hand grabbed his arm. "Naruto-kun."

As he turned to see his companion with her luscious locks covering her face, he widened his eyes and activated his Sharingan in shock. The Uchiha shinobi had his breath stolen; the nearby window allowed the moonlight to highlight Tsunami's ethereal beauty that made her look just like _her_ before she sacrificed her life so he could live another day.

Before Naruto could say something, Tsunami closed the space between them in a couple of steps. She touched Naruto's angular cheek, with a dainty hand hesitantly, as she observed his reaction.

Meanwhile, Naruto berated himself for comparing Tsunami to _her_. Closing his eyes for a moment, he took a deep breath to focus only on the image of Tsunami's glistening ebony eyes. The Sharingan did a marvelous job deciphering the collage of emotions in Tsunami's eyes: love, passion, hope and determination.

That must have been all the encouragement Tsunami needed - since she noticed Naruto's lack of rejection - because a moment later, she leaned in and kissed Naruto.

Tsunami's lips were velvety soft and the kiss was gentle, but that didn't lessen Naruto's response to his first true kiss. Instead of feeling contaminated with the kiss that involved Sasuke, his legs instead suddenly felt as if he was using legs made of ramen noodles. To remedy this, he wrapped his arms around her and clutched her modest pink nightgown.

Naruto had no idea how long the simple kiss lasted - it could have been minutes, days, years or even centuries, for all he knew - but then, finally, almost reluctantly, Tsunami pulled away from him, breaking the kiss.

"Good night, Obito-kun. And thank you." Tsunami whispered voice carried throughout the hallway before she quickly went to her room and closed the wooden door.

Naruto stood in the hallway for several minutes, steadying himself, allowing his heavy breathing to subside as he absently touched his lips with a finger. As he put his hand on the door, he muttered, "No...thank you Tsunami-chan...for everything." An unbidden tear fell from his right crimson eye before it splattered to the wooden floor quietly. _And I'm sorry...Hanabi-chan...my beautiful Yuugao (Moon-Flower)._

Then, he closed the door quietly as the moon continued to shine its radiance on the house.

~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~

Waking up to see the sun rising, Naruto smoothly left his warm futon to go train in order to clear his mind from last night events. Writing a note to Tsunami to not make him breakfast, Naruto was greeted with the mild calming atmosphere of Fire Country.

Swiftly heading to the Uchiha Training Ground 83 which was becoming his own personal training location, Naruto kindly greeted the various Uchihas he met along the way. He still couldn't believe how kind the Uchiha family was to him, considering he believed they were stuck up bastards in his past dimension.

Entering the familiar grassland plains, Naruto used his budding Sage Mode to check he was alone. Then, he opened the scroll Uchiha Kagami gave him. Raising an eyebrow at the unreadable scribbles, Naruto instinctively applied a ram sign and muttered "Kai" but to no avail. Realizing he had something that was immune to genjutsu, he activated the crimson dojutsu and saw the scribbles transformed into elegantly written kanji.

It read:

"To Uchiha Obito,

You have been summoned by the noble Uchiha Elders to the Naka Shrine at midday. Enter the shrine and lift the seventh tatami mat from the far right. You will see our mighty doujutsu depicted around various seals. The hand seals to unlock the barrier is: Snake - Ram - Monkey - Boar - Horse - Snake - Tiger.

Ensure that no one sees you entering or exiting the shrine.

Furthermore, this message does not exist."

With a quick Katon, the message was disintegrated into ashes. Patting down his clothes to remove to flakes of burnt paper, Naruto looked up to the sky to see that he had a couple of hours before he had to attend this "secret" meeting.

He was about to head to the meeting place of Team Minato but decided not to. It was obvious his presence would cause tempers to flare once again and instead decided to skip the session. He could be there tomorrow, hopefully with Kakashi-teme being nicer to him.

Instead, he decided that it was time to continue working on his chakra affinities - mainly his Uchiha one. Starting with the Tiger seal, Naruto went through twenty-six seals adroitly, ending in the Horse seal. Kneading the fire chakra in his body, Naruto learned to relish the familiar burn that accompanied a successful Katon jutsu. Slightly opening his mouth, Naruto muttered Katon: Goka Mekkyaku (Fire Release: Majestic Destroyer Flame). The red fire of destruction burned through the grasslands effortlessly as it continue to rapidly spread across the training ground until it reached 35 meters in length.

Checking his chakra reserves, he frowned when he saw the jutsu took out a huge chunk of his reserves. Although he glad Kurama wasn't here to pick on him every chance he had anymore, he was still very annoyed by how little chakra he had to work with. Merging with Obito's body provided him with much denser chakra that allowed all of his jutsu to be more devastating, but it was still irritating that he had to be a lot more economical with his jutsu. If his new body could handle the stress of Futon: Rasenshuriken (Wind Release: Spiralling Shuriken), he doubted he could do anymore than two - considering his lack of wind affinity.

He figured that he needed to adapt and decided to work on his one main weakness he had in his past life that would allow him to increase his jutsu repertoire: chakra control. Taking a kunai, he applied a steady stream of chakra to the imbalanced piece of metal and attempted to make it turn clockwise on the palm of his hand. Cursing loudly when the kunai almost landed in his skull, he brought out another kunai for another attempt.

Then, his acute instincts indicated that he wasn't alone anymore. He sent the kunai flying into the bushes behind him and was rewarded with a yelp.

He turned to see an unusual Uchiha boy with short, unkempt black hair staring reverently at him.

"What do you want now Shisui?" Naruto said with a hint of annoyance.

"Teach me how to do that fire jutsu you just did." The boy yelled to the him - as if Naruto wasn't a feet away - and pointed his finger at his face, mirroring what he did years in the future to Jiraiya.

Putting a pinky in his ear, Naruto could only sigh at how loud, how very much annoying, the brat was.

Which said a lot about how he was in the old peaceful days before everything went wrong.

~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~

A/N:

So that was my first real romance moment. Do tell me how I did and any areas I can improve on for future moments!

Currently, I'm trying to figure out a timetable for updating this story once I go back to college. I still have one and a half weeks of free time so rest assured that a couple more chapters will be released. Information about the progress of future chapters will be listed on my profile page.

Speaking about college, I plan on taking the GRE in the future. To those who don't know, the GRE is a standardized test that is part of the college application process a student needs to take in America for a Master's Degree. One part of the GRE is the vocabulary section, so I figured that a fun way to learn these words is try to apply them in my story instead of trying to straight up memorize them. I'm sorry if seeing unknown words will annoy you. But hey, at least you get to learn something new! :D


	7. Chapter 7: The Divergence of the World

A/N: I'm glad all of you love the first romance segment of this story. I wasn't sure if Tsunami's feelings felt too rushed. Now then, time to answer a statement I found in the reviews!

Q&amp;A Section:

First Guy: I want Kurenai...one of the most beautiful and calm female in Naruto...He can help ending the Bloody Mist while at that...and meet younger Mei Terumi…awesome..!

I'm sorry if Kurenai will seem OC to you in this story but that is how I visualize Kurenai in her younger teenage years before she becomes the mature and calm individual you see in the canon. The interaction between Kurenai and Rin adds some much needed humor/happy moments in this somewhat depressing story. Addressing your third statement in the review, I haven't decided anything concrete on Kiri yet. Obito was the person who caused Kiri to have its civil war around the end of the Third Shinobi War so I'm still wondering how much I should stick to the canon.

~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

Chapter 7: The Divergence of the World

"No Shisui." Naruto said. Seeing Shisui was about to protest the rather decision, he continued on. "You can't even do the basic Katon jutsu so you wouldn't be able to do this jutsu either. Furthermore, you don't have enough chakra to do the technique."

"But it's not fair! You can do that really cool Katon technique and Itachi can do the Gokakyu (Fireball). And Itachi is one year younger than me while I'm five years old. It's not fair that everyone can shoot out fire except me." And with his attitude known, the young Uchiha crossed his arms in anger and pouted.

"And what about the other thirty children that I also teach along with you guys? Not all of them know how to do the Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu (Fire Release: Fireball Technique)." Inwardly, Naruto was not that shocked anymore by all the new minor memories he absorbed from Obito every night that provided new insight into the boy's life. Not only did Obito help the elderly, he also taught Itachi and the Uchiha children many things in his free time. He was really surprised, however, by how much community service Obito did, which made him really wonder how far did Obito fall if he went so far as to help Itachi with the massacre. He doubted that Obito didn't kill at least one or two of the kids he taught in the past.

"But...but…" Shisui protested, "It's...not fair…" Seeing a raised eyebrow in the form of a question mark, Shisui quickly continued. "Itachi is just one year younger than me and he already is considered an adult since he can do the Gokakyu jutsu. He is already really smart and talented and already has the Sharingan. And since he will be the future heir of the clan, everything is set in stone for him in life." The boy sighed in defeat. "He just needs to walk through the streets and all the Uchiha will cater to his every whim since he will eventually lead the clan!"

Naruto was quite amazed by how intelligent the boy, Shisui, was compared to himself at the age of five. He seemed very insightful for such a young age, which indicated he must have be some sort of genius or had advanced intellect. But Naruto never heard of someone named Uchiha Shisui become a notable individual in the bingo books nor he never did appear in the Fourth Shinobi War with the other famous but deadly shinobis. The logical conclusion were two depressing ones, Naruto deducted, was that either this boy died early before he had the chance to live up to his potential or he wasn't trained properly in the future and died off as another forgotten nobody during the war or the Uchiha Massacre.

_And he was just another innocent casualty of Hashirama's failed experiment. _One side of him whispered cynically. When he processed that thought, he shook his head in anger. He should not be thinking of the mighty Lord First in that way or manner. That train of thought seemed to follow the same vein as Madara - which was never a good sign for his or - anyone's for that matter - health.

"Indeed, Itachi will be the future heir, and along with that will come the extra perks." Shisui smiled as his brother-like figure understood his viewpoint. "But...tell me Shisui, what makes a leader?"

"A leader is someone who is so powerful that people follow him cause he's cool!" The boy shouted with stars in his eyes. "He is respected and remembered by all! That's what I wanna be!"

"Indeed, those are all true." Naruto replied sagely, as if he had a similar conversation before in life. But that was when he was naive little shinobi. He needed to make sure this boy didn't fall in the same trap as he did in the past. "But most of all, a leader is someone who is forced to make hard decisions for the benefit of all."

"Huh?" The Uchiha replied.

"Shisui, if a man held your father and mother hostage and told you that only one was allowed to live and the other one had to die, who would you chose?"

"But Otou-san's dead! And Kaa-san can kick anyone's ass!" Naruto sighed as he shook his head. _Smarty pants..._

"Then, how about your grandmother who is disabled?" Naruto said, "Your mother cannot defeat the shinobi without risking the possibility of endangering your frail grandmother. Who would you choose between them?"

"Uh...erk...I-I...I...then I would use some awesome jutsu to burn the man into a crisp!" The boy proclaimed.

"And if this man was an S-rank shinobi who could easily kill you just with his pinky finger?" Naruto raised his eyebrow.

"Well, then I would...uh...um…" The boy scrunched his eyebrows as he thought deeply in this position. After a few minutes of thinking, Shisui frowned distressingly. "I...can't…" The Uchiha boy mumbled as he rubbed his head in distress, "I love them both. It's not fair!"

"And that is what one day Itachi will be forced to do." As Naruto recalled the murky details surrounding the massacre of the Uchiha Clan, "He maybe eventually be forced to make a tough decision between two things he greatly loves, and many - if not all the Uchihas - may not even agree to his decision at all. This is the mantle of responsibility that burdens leaders. Itachi cannot think for himself but for the greater whole."

Shisui stayed contemplative for a minute before he said, "Then...how can I be respected by the clan if I can't choose between two hard decisions?"

Naruto ruffled the boy's hair good naturedly. "You become strong. Work hard in your studies and learn from your mistakes. This is the most valuable quality any successful shinobi needs to succeed. And only then will people respect you for your power and skill. Come on Shisui. I can help you with the Gokakyu jutsu for a couple of hours before I have a meeting to attend." Naruto left the training ground without a second glance to go find a nearby pond.

Shisui quickly ran to follow the quickly retreating figure with great alacrity.

~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~

While Naruto was teaching the finer points of Katon jutsus to Shisui, on the other side of Konoha, a boy with silver hair glared at his burnt hand.

Training at one of the more obscure training grounds, Training Ground 142, Kakashi Hatake was training alone. Staying up all night, Kakashi tried to abate the drawbacks of his first jutsu, the Chidori (Lightning Release: One Thousand Birds), that was derived from Minato-sensei's Rasengan (Spiralling Sphere). Mainly, he was working on the issue of the tunnel vision. It rendered this jutsu pretty much useless in actual combat despite its high fatality rate.

An enemy could dodge the jutsu easily if they saw it from a couple feet away and perform a counterattack. A counterattack that Kakashi would be hopeless against considering his eyes could not adapt to seeing the surroundings when his body moved very, very fast in a straight line. If he had a dojutsu, then Chidori could have been a one hit kill S-rank jutsu. But right now, Kakashi was slowly realizing his first creation was a failure.

Punching the tree with his lightning-cooked hand, he ignored the pain of his sensitive skin hit against the rough tree bark. What hurt more was the feeling of how he failed.

Again.

When his father committed suicide after accidently initiating the Third Shinobi War, Kakashi wanted to not losing anyone he cared again. Quickly moving through the shinobi ranks, he wanted to make sure that he had the power to protect Minato-sensei and Kushina-san when the situation arose. Then, when Team 7 included Obito and Rin, he also wanted to protect them since they were growing on him.

For the first time since his father's death, Kakashi felt like he had a true family; one that was very different from his disgraced one. With Minato and Kushina as the parents, Obito as the annoying younger brother and Rin as the middle sister, Kakashi felt truly content with his life.

Except it wasn't meant to last. With the sudden death of Obito, Kakashi fell into grief of how he saw his surrogate brother get killed right in front of him by that Iwa jonin. And even though he avenged the fallen Uchiha, a little voice in the back of his head told him that if he _had_ used that jutsu earlier, Obito wouldn't have died.

Coming home defeated, Kakashi trained day and night until he couldn't move. Drowning in despair, Kakashi perform jutsu after jutsu, and kata after kata - not caring of the agonizing pain he felt nor how close he was to dying - before someone found collapsed on the training ground and brought him to the hospital.

Staring at the morbid blank white walls, Kakashi griefed about everything: his failure, his loss, his weakness, his arrogance, his pride, his shinobi rules, everything. He resolved to live by Obito's words of wisdom - to protect Team 7 (ie. Rin) - so he could honor the Uchiha's meaningless sacrifice that could have been avoided if things were done differently.

Only to find that none of it didn't matter one bit when he saw one Obito Uchiha waltz back into the team like it was a daily occurrence. Even though Kakashi was happy that Obito was back, he was extremely infuriated by how nonplussed the others were. Both Minato and Rin acted as if Obito didn't die, which made Kakashi really wonder if all the reflecting about his life in the hospital was even worth anything. It was as if death was not such a big deal. It was as if his father didn't need to commit suicide to leave _him_. This train of thought led him back directly to the million ryo question he asked himself everyday: _Then, why did Otou-san had to die…?_

Confused and lost, Kakashi decided to do what he loved to do in his spare time after avoiding Minato-sensei. Train. Train as hard as possible so all the swirling emotions would be locked under a steel cage forever. But that proved to be abortive since he was finding himself to be more frustrated than ever.

He was currently finding himself in a deadlock. With the Chidori deemed as a failure, he would need to create a whole jutsu from scratch but that could take years. If Minato-sensei took three years for the Rasengan, then how long would it take for him to create his own? He needed something that would increase his fighting potential greatly, but it needed to be fast since he, or Rikudo Sennin forbid the others, might die in this war. But the problem was that his taijutsu was at jonin level so he couldn't find a way to improve, he wasn't creative nor patient enough for genjutsus, and he needed to wait till he got older so he could improve his kenjutsu.

So, he was currently stuck with no clear way to proceed.

And Minato-sensei wasn't doing a great job getting him out of it by forcing the team to do pointless "teamwork exercises" all the time. The boy sometimes felt as if Minato-sensei had a very small sadistic side with him that loved to come out during team training time.

Instead of going to the Team 7 daily meeting in the morning, Kakashi decided he would use his time more effectively by finding a new teacher - hopefully.

~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~

Walking through the various shortcuts, to quickly get back to the urban district, Kakashi spotted a well-known figure of Konoha reading calmly from a scroll under a tree. Approaching the person, Kakashi hid behind a bush to stare at the pale feminine figure dressed in a purple yukata.

Orochimaru.

One of the three legendary Sannin, this man was one of Konoha's S-rank shinobi who survived the legendary battle against Ame's Hanzo in the Second Shinobi War. He was the teammate of Jiraiya-sama, another sennin that taught Minato-sensei. In Kakashi's eyes, he was the perfect individual he was looking for. _Now, how do I ask him to accept me as a-_

"Get out of the bushes." The man in the clearing ordered simply as his eyes didn't move from the scroll. "Or there will be consequences."

Seeing himself caught, Kakashi quickly acquiesced and bowed deeply in front the powerful shinobi. "Orochimaru-sama."

The Sannin's eyes looked upward for a millisecond before his eyes continue to eat the contents of the scroll. "Oh? Minato's kid. Tell me, Hatake, what do you want?"

Suppressing the growl at being called by his disgraced family name, Kakashi said smoothly "I wish to be your apprentice."

The S-rank shinobi looked up from his reading to see the boy still bowing in front of him, quickly noticing the dirty clothes, bloodshot eyes, and burnt hand. "Tell me boy, the great _Minato_", not even hiding his animosity of the yellow-haired ninja, "is your teacher. Why should I teach you? I already have shinobi of my own to teach."

Kakashi didn't show any signs of reacting from Orochimaru's hated of his sensei but internally, he was furious at this shinobi's acrimonious attitude to his sensei. But in the end, he kept a cool head. It didn't matter if this Sannin didn't like his current teacher, he was still a wealth of opportunity since Jiraiya-sama wasn't constantly in the village and Hokage-sama said that Tsunade-sama was on her extended leave. He needed to ensure he wouldn't lose anyone ever again.

"Power." Kakashi broke the silence between them with a word that showed his unrelentless determination and drive to become stronger. Staring straight at the golden reptilian slit pupils that would send lesser shinobis with nightmares, he continued. "I need power. I need power so I can defeat someone like you." He declared unashamedly.

Orochimaru let out a small hissing laugh at the last comment. While many would be pissed at the upstart boy making such a statement, he instead found it amusing. Looking back at the very determined eyes, he unintentionally let out a small smirk at the same eyes that he saw in the mirror everyday with his current goal in mind. _Hmm...he does have a lot prodigious talent and with the determination and I do see the potential of a very useful underling who could provide me some extra data for an experiment. I think I just need to mold him and then I will have a great assistant and he seems like a more worthy investment than Anko. Plus, I do need to make the fool shut up about Minato every time. _

"You are quite amusing, but being a comedian won't make me teach you. I don't need another one to deal with."

"But-" Kakashi interjected.

"Silence." Orochimaru said with all of the S-rank's killing intent focused on turning Kakashi's face ashen-white. "Do not interrupt me again. As I was going to say, before you graciously interrupted me, I will teach you." Seeing the boy waiting before it was his turn to talk, Orochimaru nodded his head in approval. "But I require a test. A test that will allow me to see your determination."

"A bell test?" Kakashi replied as he understood the logic. Teachers tended to test their students before so they could understand their strengths and weaknesses or see if they had certain characteristics a teacher wanted.

"Nothing complex like that." Orochimaru shook his head, "No, what I ask is simple: gouge out your eye."

There was a silence that permeated the atmosphere before it was broken by a scream.

"WWWWWWHHHHHHAAAAAATTTTTT!"

Not batting an eyelash from the scream, the S-rank shinobi continued. "My philosophy is this: sacrifice is necessary for greatness. If I teach you, I will be able to make you into an S-rank shinobi just like your father. I don't doubt this, especially with your aptitude and lineage."

"Then why-"

"I asked you to get rid of your eye? It's because I want to see if you have the willpower necessary to survive and flourish from my whole training. My training will put you through so much pain and suffering everyday that stabbing your own eye out will seem pitiful in comparison . I will constantly make you break bones to mend them and then instantly break them again. I will increase your strength quadruple fold by making you climb the most dangerous cliffs chakra-less. I will make you strong by making you run around with boulders that make you feel as if you have your clan house strapped on your back. I will increase your immunity by injecting you even with the deadliest Suna poisons that killed thousands. I will do all this and more to ensure that you one day will be more powerful as me. But to make sure all my effort isn't wasted, I want to make sure you want to truly become powerful and not some foolish idea that you conjugated in your head at a whim."

Kakashi was speechless in the face of the Sennin's speech. It made sense from a certain morbid angle. Unlike the bell test that tested your ability to cooperate with others to the limits, Orochimaru's request tested your long term commitment to a cause. But was it a test did Kakashi wanted to pass?

The silver-haired boy first thought there was some kind of hidden meaning or statement that he had to figure out. But that idea was lost merit when he noticed the clear golden eyes that clearly told him that the man before him really _did_ want him to stab his eye out.

_But is it worth it?_ Taking a kunai out, he selected the eye on his non-dominant left side. Pointing the edge of the weapon at its intended target, his left eye looked straight at the shaking obsidian weapon and saw his face being reflected on the weapon.

It wasn't a look of the confident yet stoic shinobi Kakashi prided himself to be. Instead, it was the look on his face when he first found his father dead body in the house. It was the look of a terrified boy who was lost in the harsh world of reality.

It was a face that he vowed he wouldn't have anymore. And he already broke the promise to himself in less than a year.

Absently, a stray thought flooded his mind. _Maybe I should just stick with Minato-sensei? _But that thought was crushed under honest rationalism. _Minato-sensei isn't as strong as Orochimaru-sama. Unlike Minato-sensei who recently received his S-rank two weeks ago, Orochimaru-sama is a feared shinobi who killed hundreds of shinobi and played a huge role in the Konoha's war effort in the past war and the current one._ Minato's power paled in comparison to the legendary Sannin - no matter how much training he received from one of them. Furthermore, this was a once in a lifetime opportunity that Kakashi stumbled across.

It was an offer that required lots of time to weigh the benefits and the cost. But there wasn't a lot of time, based on the impatient frown marring the Sennin's face. He needed to make his decision immediately.

Angling the weapon down slightly, Kakashi was about to remove the kunai from his face. _After all, there are other opportunities. _He reasoned hopefully.

But before he was able to do so, his mind unintentionally flashed back to the clear events that led to Obito "dying" with a determined smile on his face.

The three of them were in a cave when the Iwa jonin used a jutsu that caused the cave to collapse around them. Since they all were relatively uninjured, they easily navigated through the falling rocks and headed to the opening of the cave, with Kakashi and Obito leading in front. But before they were able to do so, Rin tripped when a nearby boulder landed nearby - causing the nearby ground to shake. She tripped and that spilt second was all the jonin needed to send a boulder right on top of her to crush Rin.

But Obito wasn't going to let that happen to his crush. Running back to Rin, he grabbed and threw her out of the cave. The two turned back in time to see the boulder land right on top of the Uchiha. Blood flew everywhere and there was a sickening crunch. Before they could run back to lift the boulder off their teammates, more rocks fell and sealed off the cave.

The Hatake found it ironic that he called Obito a coward whenever the Uchiha cried, yet he was the most bravest of the two by staring at death straight in the face with a smile.

Closing his eyes, he could already visualize the familiar looking Obito wearing the orange goggles and giving him that stupid annoying grin as he said, "Come on Kakashi-teme. What are you so scared about?"

_Indeed._ Kakashi mused. _What am I scared about? I could always get another eye in the future. I didn't mope in the hospital for nothing. And most of all, I am a real shinobi. I thrive upon receiving and giving pain! I resolved that my love ones would never suffer on that day! I won't break that promise now!_

Opening his left eye, the black eyeball stared unflinchingly at the kunai. Ignorant of the growing, yet twisted smile on the Sannin's face that would have sent Jirayia running to a gay bar happily, the small silver-haired shinobi took a deep breath. He moved the weapon quickly towards his face.

Then, Kakashi's world exploded in pain before all went black.

~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~

In another part of Konoha, Rin Nohara was ignorant of her white-haired teammate's recent injury. Instead of meeting with Team 7 just like the rest of her teammates, she was at the Konoha library with another classmate from the Academy - Kurenai Yuhi.

After once again failing to find Obito last night, she decided she would initiate the second part of her plan first. But she didn't realize climbing the hill to become strong was more steeper than it looked.

Medical ninjutsu was definitely not helping her get any stronger. She didn't have the dexterity to wield the chakra scalpels effectively in close range engagements nor the time to start creating an immunity to poisons she could make. Without Tsunade-sama's personal journals, she had no idea where to start to reverse engineer the Sannin's fabled super strength fast enough for the next Team 7 deployment - which could happen in a couple of days.

Going through the various medical text was turning out to be a waste of time. Feeling somewhat frustrated by the lack of progress, she decided she needed a break by walking around Konoha.

It was there she ran into her affable friend Kurenai. Apparently, her fellow kunoichi was also in the same boat and feeling quite powerless in her team compared to the strengths of her other two teammates, Asuma Sarutobi and Raido Namiashi.

Furthermore, the red-eyed kunoichi was quite pissed off when Asuma proclaimed to the team that he would protect her, only for the Sarutobi to be hit with a genjutsu that would give him migraines for the rest of the day. Kurenai did not like Asuma babysitting her since she her dream was to become a strong independent kunoichi. Being babied by the Hokage's son wasn't going to help.

Finding themselves in a similar situation, the two girls decided they could help each other improve since they both used Yin Release for their jutsus and had very high chakra control. But, they didn't expect how easy it was for them to work together. After spending two hours trading their various techniques that greatly enhanced their jutsu repertoire, they spent the third hour in the library and created a new jutsu by combining Kurenai's innate knowledge of genjutsu with Rin's medical knowledge.

"So what do you want to call the genjutsu since you came up with the idea?" Kurenai asked her friend.

"What? No, no. You did the most work since you needed to figure out the hand signs for the genjutsu." Rin replied modestly.

"Yes, but you gave me an idea for the genjutsu. You were the one who pointed out that if someone was repeatedly exposed with the same stimulus over a period of time, your brain would eventually ignore the stimulus." Kurenai replied patiently.

"But that was just some random comment I made about our brain getting used to too much stimulus like our eyes ignore our noses since we see it everyday. I didn't know you would expand that idea into an actual genjutsu!."

"But still… I didn't think I would be able to invent a C-rank jutsu so early! This has so many different applications like escaping a prison or trying to trick guards. It practically uses little chakra since it's just speeds up a natural process of the brain." Kurenai happily replied as she leaned back on the chair. "That's why you should be the one to name my first created jutsu! I would never have thought of this by myself!"

"Fine." Rin sighed as she threw her hands up in exasperation "Let's call the jutsu Genjutsu: Fantomuzon (Genjutsu: Phantom Zone).

"Phantom, really?" The red-eyed shinobi quipped.

"Fine. Then you name the stupid jutsu."

Waving her hands in front of her, Kurenai let out a smile. "Nooooo, it's okay. I call it Fantomuzon but I'm naming the next jutsu we make together. I want the next one to have some reference to a flower. Alright?" _You suck at making creative names Rin._

"Sure."

The pair was silent the conversation died down. Rin was very happy, since she felt she learned some basic genjutsu that she could use on her next mission. She felt a lot stronger, so that was one step forward in her book. Before she could say her thanks to her friend, Kurenai cut her off unknowingly. "So...did you see the new hottie in town?"

Rolling her eyes, Rin sighed at how gossipy Kurenai could be. It was a far cry from her strict shinobi demeanor at times. She sometimes wondered which personality was her real one: the serious shinobi or the gossiping girl. Nevertheless, she decided to indulge her companion. "Who?"

Kurenai quickly pulled out a magazine with various handsome boys posing on the cover. Flipping through a couple of pages, she turned the magazine so it was facing Rin. "Him."

"Huh? Oh, it's Obito-kun." Rin said absently as her eyes feasted on the two-page image detailing her teammate with a Konoha headband around his neck. His long dark hair with strands of white fell over his smoldering dark coal-black eyes and contrasted the simple light blue v-neck t-shirt and navy-blue pants he wore. She applauded whoever took the picture because the sun was in the perfect position to highlight the glistening beads of sweat rolling down his broad chest. Her appreciation of the image continued before it finally dawned on her on exactly _who_ was in the recent edition of Konoha's women magazine - Secrets. "WHAT? WHY IS OBITO-KUN IN HERE?"

The nearby librarian quickly chucked a book at Rin's head - making Rin quickly turn around to see a glaring old women giving her the stink eye. Understanding the message, she bowed her head as an apology before turning back to see Kurenai with the magazine. She was licking her lips as he took in the image of the new Obito.

"The dead last?" Kurenai asked as her eyes didn't leave the paper. "He definitely doesn't look like a dead last anymore." Her tone took a more primal tone as she traced Obito's muscular arms shown in the magazine with a finger. "I wouldn't mind if he wants to _teach_ me a thing or two."

"Kurenai!" Rin hissed at her friend quietly. "Please do not start lusting on my teammate. He just got back from a life-endangering mission a week ago."

"Yes, yes. You already told me all about it." Kurenai rolled her eyes before she stared at Rin right in the eyes. "I also happen to notice that was when you were all over Konoha looking for your teammate. Is there something you want to tell me? _Hmm?_"

"No Kurenai. For Sennin's sakes, there is nothing between us." Rin sighed in exasperation. "I just wanted to say sorry to him since I almost missed the chance when he almost died in that mission."

Kurenai stared at her as she raised eyebrow, hinting her disbelief. "And you did not want to snag the hottie, which luckily happens to be your teammate, before he gets back into the market? The likely chance of that happening is like me and Sarutobi getting married and having a child in the future. It won't happen. Definitely." Leaning forward and cupping a hand, she whispered. "So spill, how good was he in bed?"

"KURENAI!"

A dictionary was thrown at Rin's head by the librarian for her troubles.

~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~

A/N:

Since many of you requested for my chapters to be longer, here it is. I tried to go for 10 pages, but the chapter ended at 9 pages and I didn't want to start a new segment. Hope you like it!

So I'm starting my spring semester of college tomorrow. Like I said in the previous chapter, I'm not sure about the schedule of updates. I'm right now leaning towards monthly updates but nothing is set in stone. When in doubt, check my profile page for the info.

I wanted to ask you guys: what do you mean when you want an "older girl" harem? Is it based on Naruto's or Obito's canon age? An example would be Anko: she would be older compared to Naruto in the canon (so she could qualify to be in the harem) but she is around the same age as Obito (so she isn't an "older" girl). Do comment if you want the older girl harem to be based on Naruto's or Obito's canon age. I love any suggestions you guys give me!


	8. Chapter 8: Dancing Puppet Strings

A/N: Thank you for all your awesome suggestions! I will do my best to pick some of your suggested characters for the harem but not everyone will be added. The max is ten females, although I'm looking at around six or seven females. Any more than ten will put a strain on my ability to write an interesting story that also includes meaningful relationships (unless I somehow improve my writing skills in the future *wink wink*). So, I'm sorry in advance if someone you really wanted in this harem will not be here.

Q&amp;A Section:

coresplinter: Hm… I think I would've enjoyed it more if you didn't make 'him' all emo and Sasuke-like…

I am very sorry if you feel this way but being emo is associated with being Uchiha. Naruto wouldn't be an awesome Uchiha shinobi without it! In all seriousness, I see the "emo trait" as a way to add a major weakness to Naruto, like Kishimoto somewhat did to Sasuke. I realized that, after a couple of chapters, I made Naruto way too strong (Shinju Chakra, Kamui, Future Knowledge, Huge Jutsu Collection, Senjutsu, etc…) and I really didn't want this story to become a Naruto stomp-fest. So, his unstable and naive mental state will serve as his glaring weakness (as you will see in this chapter) and will make this story a lot more interesting in the long run.

~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

Chapter 8: Dancing Puppet Strings

"Open your true eyes child, and show me you mark of strength." An Uchiha elder spoke with a raspy, yet grandmotherly, tone as she sat across from one Uchiha Obito in this covert meeting. One lone red sharingan eye rotated intimidatingly from her eye socket as it cruelly dissected the black-haired boy. The elder in front of him seemed to be frail individual: her white hair and liver spots decorated what may have been a beautiful face the held two working Sharingan eyes. But now, she was just an elderly Uchiha with working eye and one white eye - indicating her blindness on the left side.

But she did not seem like the old and frail grandmother figure who needed assistance carrying groceries to her home. No, Naruto could feel the devastating amount of chakra dormant in that body.

It was vast. It was the an ocean of chakra molded into the form of the Uchiha elder in front of him.

For someone who lived through the vicious era of the Warring States Period before it transitioned into the glorious time where Konoha was founded and built, her mere presence reeked only of insanity and misery to someone who was aptly in tune with nature.

And she was not alone.

Five other Uchiha elders in this secret room displayed disarming smiles and kind gestures to Obito. But Naruto quickly realized that it only belied the gallons of sweet tangy blood that drenched each individual crimson several times over.

For Obito, he knew all six elders sitting in this room on a personal level. His personality came to fruition once more as Naruto had the immediate urge to call the individual reeking of death, "Hitomi-baa-chan!" But with the increased passive sensor ability Naruto gained from refining his Senjutsu in his new body, he felt increasingly repulsed by these people. _Hell, could they even be called people anymore? _

Naruto was slowly beginning to realize that these were the true S-rank shinobi when there was no such system in place back then. These six old Uchihas could have been the some of the very best ninjas the Uchiha Clan has ever produced during a world littered with constant conflict. And where many others perished in their valiant struggle to stay afloat and do their best to live another day, these elders were once deadly shinobi and kunoichi who flourished and thrived in that genocidal era.

With the amount of of blood they each spilt, they all made Uchiha Madara at look like a saint in comparison. Madara strove to bring peace in his own misguided way yet based on each elder's aura Naruto could sense hinted that they only selfishly wanted their ambitions to flourish - regardless of the hardship and sacrifice they brought onto others.

But no matter how much Naruto could feel disgusted by these individuals, he could not do anything to avoid them considering they made up the second major power bloc in the Uchiha Clan after the Uchiha Clan Head family. He was fortunate enough to have Obito's personality provided a convenient buffer to interact with these _monsters_.

Nevertheless, he acquiesced to her wishes.

"Hai Baa-chan!" Pouring chakra into his eyes, his eyes rapidly evolved to their three-tomoe state and then into the complex yet soothing pinwheel Mangekyo dojutsu.

A wrinkled hand lightly touched Naruto's chin as Uchiha Hitomi moved her head closer for a better look. Marveling the unique signature of the upgraded Sharingan, she absently noticed Naruto instinctive jerk to get away from her appendage.

Pulling back when she saw his slight visible discomfort that only an Uchiha would unconsciously display, she spoke out loud to her colleagues. "He definitely has it. It seems like great times are destined for the Uchiha once more."

"Undoubtedly. This is an auspicious sign from Rikudo Sennin himself. We haven't had one since the duo awoken theirs ten years ago." Another elder spoke, a male, this time who was completely blind - with two pale eyes. Naruto got the sinking feeling that every elder in this room has - or had - the Mangekyo Sharingan. Which brought the question, why did they not have the enternal variants? He couldn't believe that they could not find someone closely related to eyes with.

Another blind man with a white beard clenched his hand into a fist. "An answer to Danzo's little parade, we have, it seems. Show off the powers of this clan to the uneducated masses, we shall, once more."

"I still don't think we can trust that ignorant fool." An austere woman spoke derogatorily. "Not with that blasted Senju filling up his student minds with his lies."

"But that's what the Senju bastard wants to do. To _debilitate_ us." Arrogance dripping from the last elder's tone. "He gets the last laugh even after death. And that is why _we_ always win in the end. We just needed to wait till the right moment. And that moment is now." He turned back to stare at Obito with one red Sharingan eye that kinda daunted Naruto. "Typical Senju arrogance."

"Huh?" Naruto muttered to himself softly as he was lost in this abstruse conversation. But, it seemed as if every occupant of the room heard him.

Uchiha Hitomi spoke to Naruto in a disarming tone, "Tell me Obito-kun, do you know the details surrounding our current situation in this war?"

"Uh...no." Naruto stuttered as he was completely blindsided by the rapid change of topic of discussion. He was still reeling from the fact that Madara seemed _nice_ compared to these people.

"We are losing." She answered abruptly as her lone eye stared straight to Naruto's eyes.

"What?" Naruto uttered as he slowly registered the comment. "But… but… aren't we-"

"Winning? Konoha is losing in this battle of attrition. We are being pressed on all sides. Iwa and Kumo are marching closer and closer to Konoha everyday while proving irritatingly illusive for our forces. Kiri, on the other hand, is wrecking our supply lines from the coast. With Suna officially joining in the fight against us after deciding that playing neutral won't allow them to get a share of the rewards, Konoha is destined to fall in months."

"Bu-"

"And the opportunists are out for blood. More and more factions are appearing out of the woodwork - each wanting a carve out a piece of Fire Country for themselves. In short, this war marks the end of Konoha itself - and with it, the Uchiha."

"W-w-w-wh-" He was completely shocked by how Konoha _wasn't winning_ like they were supposed to according to the history textbook, Konoha: Beautiful Foundations, that Naruto was forced to read when he was younger. A sinking pit started to form in his stomach as he realized he _wasn't_ in the past. He was in _a whole different dimension_ \- which made all of his future knowledge that he learned absolutely useless.

~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~

Of course, had Naruto _actually_ paid attention to Iruka's lecture in class on the second day of the Academy, he would have learned that the history textbook that Naruto was deriving his information from was complete bullshit when it came to teaching about the three shinobi wars. Since the history textbook was made to teach civilians the basics about history, it failed to cover all the important details that any shinobi or academy student needed to know. But the Academy was running out of funds since the Council Elders implemented budget cuts and thus the Academy was forced to grab the cheapest, yet most updated history textbooks in bulk - Konoha: Beautiful Foundations.

It just so happened that one day, Naruto left class early to do a prank on a shopkeeper that wouldn't sell him some instant ramen. If he stayed ten more minutes, he could have heard Iruka describe the Third Shinobi War from his own personal experiences. That day, he did a great job explaining to the children the actual war effort in full detail which painted the war a very different light than the textbook did. The lesson concluded that day was that you made sure take you everything - including information - with a grain of salt.

But… Naruto (and maybe the others as well) missed that _important _lesson… and so our somewhat _naive_ protagonist never realized that the _current war crysis_ that Konoha is currently in is the _exact same situation_ his Konoha experienced in _his timeline_…

Good job Naruto!

You concluded _wrongly_ that you are in a completely different dimension. More headaches for you in the future! Cheers!

Anyway, let's get back to the story…

~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~

"B-b-b-" Naruto stammered.

"But with the ascendancy of your eyes, we can stop this disgraceful tide of war." The elder said calmly, as if she wasn't talking to Naruto about a serious subject over a cup of tea. "And that's why we need to take the appropriate steps to make sure that the Uchiha stay on top. So tell me Obito, are you willing to do what is necessary. For Konoha? For _the Uchiha_?"

There was a silence that engulfed the atmosphere as Naruto rapidly processed the deluge of information that Obito's "Baa-chan" told him. _Konoha was going to lose. Konoha was going to fall. And with Konoha gone, everyone was going to die or suffer: Kakashi, Rin, Minato, Mikoto, Itachi, Shisui, Kagami… _the list went on and on_. _Everyone, even the little Uchiha children that Naruto loved to play and teach with in his free time to the kind Uchiha Teyaki who gave him free food, was going to die. _Iwa and Kumo are getting closer and closer and when they do… it will be hell… _Naruto concluded grimly as his mind wandered back to the day of the screaming cacophony that engulfed the air when the Confederate Shinobi pushed the Allied Shinobi Forces out of their last stronghold in Fire Country - Konoha. Hundreds died on that fateful day, but the corollary was thousands grieving the loss of family and friends.

_But most of all, she could die_. Naruto concluded rationally. Suzuki Tsunami, the adorable yet benign woman whom Naruto was very slowly, but ever surely, falling in love with after finally moving on past his first true love. Her purity served as his warm welcoming light in this dark and violent world. He could, no would _not_ fail another. Or he would-

Eyes, formerly tormented with indecision and grief after Kakashi's blatant rejection, sharpened into gems of pure determination as the Uchiha blood within him sang of possessiveness. _It seems I must wage war against my future allies…but Tsunami-chan will not be harmed by anyone. She WILL be safe. She MUST be safe. _

Decision made, Naruto broke through the silent ambience first. "What do I need to do?" He felt his chakra hum in anticipation - anticipation for what, he didn't know but Naruto was going to make sure he kept this promise. Or he would _commit_ seppuku like Zabuza did on the battlefield and take as many as possible to the afterlife. She was that _worth_ that much to him.

Quiet murmuring broke out between the elders before Hitomi silenced them with a quick snap of her fingers. Then, she explained her plan. "In Konoha's leadership, there is a man who can give you the most important yet dangerous missions to allow you to change the tide of the war and bring the Uchiha back to prominence once more."

"Who?" Naruto questioned quickly as he hung off her every word. Desperately.

"Shimura Danzo." She replied, with a hint of distaste coloring her words.

Blood fell from Naruto's face as he recalled the one of the two people he wanted to avoid in this _new dimension_. Although the details currently surrounding the man was very ambiguous, it painted Danzo as a man that Naruto did not want to be in the same room with. Sai's exquisite personality can attest to that.

"So you heard the rumors." She nodded approvingly. "But nevertheless, we must ally with him. He recently created a black ops program called Root and the Hokage is requiring all clans to have at least one B-rank member minimum in this program. And as foolish as the name may sound, I can absolutely guarantee that any individuals of high aptitude will enter the program."

_Huh? Wasn't he supposed to steal orphans? Then again, my info may be faulty in this new world. _Naruto thought shook his head. He would need to figure out the differences between his and this world when he had some free time. "Wouldn't it be better if I stayed with Minato-sensei?" He asked.

"No. Danzo can allow you to access more resources and leverage that Namikaze-san could ever provide you with. We have recently heard of your… _destructive_ practice sessions. With you being confirmed as an A-rank shinobi by the Hokage himself, staying on _that_ team will only serve to hold you back. Something, it seems, your team is already doing." She said with a glint in her eye, daring Naruto to tell her she was wrong right in front of her.

Naruto frowned when he realized that his secret training sessions weren't, well, secret anymore. The plus side to all of this is that she assumed that he was hiding his true abilities until he just unlocked the Mangekyo Sharingan, so he could use the same excuse in the future if someone would be suspicious about his recent magnification of strength.

"So why don't you get someone else?" It was obvious to Naruto that Danzo would provide a much better opportunity to hunt down Madara, but he didn't want to have his vibrant personality replaced with a rock

"Why you-" One of the elders interjected angrily, before another elder next to him gave him a quick jab to silence him.

Hitomi, without showing any of her own irritation at Obito's stubbornness, decided that the current route wasn't working. Without missing a beat, she decided to change the topic slightly so Obito would be more receptive to their _ideas_. "Did you know that Danzo wanted Itachi to enter Root?"

"WHAT?"

She pressed on. "Itachi isn't ready for such a program yet Danzo demands the Uchiha must send their finest since we lost little compared to the other clans. Yet, this would only desiccate the golden path our future heir has already started on. While he is prodigious in many disciplines, the Uchiha cannot sacrifice the next clan head to some _outsider's_ whim. And moreover, he wants the other children to enter: Shisui, Miku, Dai, Kenshun, Nao, Murasaki…"

As she began to list the names of the various Uchiha children that Obito - and now Naruto - started to teach, it ignited hot agony. Ignorant of the very small grins from the other individuals in the room, Naruto saw red when Uchiha Hitomi clinically listed more and more children to be sent on the battlefield prematurely where most of them would die and the rest would be broken physically or mentally by the deleterious battlefields of Shinobi World Wars. Furthermore, all of those children she was listing were _his_ students that Danzo wanted.

_If Danzo really wants the Sharingan, then he can look at mine for all he wants. But, he will NOT dare to touch one inch of MY students. Or I will murder him and burn the fucker to ashes and hide his leftovers in a ditch, then turn the ditch into a fucking swamp and drown the swamp in water an-_

"I'll join Root." Naruto answered hotly as his activated Mangekyo Sharingan rotated endlessly in agreement. Inwardly, he was deathly horrified by how _dark_ that train of thought was. _I need to get out of here before something else happens. Their auras are somehow infecting me through my Senjutsu ability. Fuck!_

All the elders nodded their head in approval. Seeing the meeting was done, Naruto unashamedly ignored proper etiquette and stood up abruptly to leave. Taking a discreet glance at the tablet at the end of the room with his still active Mangekyo Sharingan, he quickly memorized the imprints on the stone tablet that Madara spoke of during his interesting monologues. He would spend some time later understanding the text at his own convenience but, right now, he needed to leave this room as soon as possible. But before he was able to, Hitomi spoke once more. "There is one more thing you must do. For the clan."

"What?" Naruto gritted out caustically as he turned around. He needed to leave fast. Something was _very _wrong with him and he needed to get down the bottom of the problem - fast.

"You need to impregnate the most powerful Uchiha woman currently available as per the contract you signed when you agreed to become a Konoha shinobi and unlocked the Mangekyo Sharingan. Violation of this contract leads to immediate removal of Sharingan and possible execution as stated in Article 2, Section 5. Attempts to resist can include suppression with extreme prejudice, extraction of sperm forcefully, and barred from entering your biological child's life."

"Huh?" Naruto blurted out loudly as all the previous anxiety evaporated instantly. He could only blink as his mind slowly translated Hitomi's words circuitously.

She threw him a vanilla folder with some papers stuffed in. "Here is all the information that you need to know about Uchiha Saeko. Congratulations! I hope to see some children running around soon."

"Wh-" As he reflexively caught the packet of papers that had all the information about Uchiha Saeko. But he didn't need any of it since Obito knew the individual very well. Uchiha Saeko was Shisui's mother… a very deadly swordswoman/widow in her own right who was rumored to be on the brink of becoming an S-rank kunoichi before she retired. She stabbed just about anybody who looked at her lewdly - including sending one white-haired pervert to the emergency room repeatedly.

Only one thought echoed through his mind. _Rikudo Sennin, why me? _

"Now, you can go." She said sweetly yet compellingly. "And make sure you treat her well. _Understood?_"

Switching between looking at her and the folder back and forth a couple of times, Naruto's mind shut down as his literally held the sheets of paper that had the information about his future wife that his clan decided to arbitrary provide for him.

Turning around, he absently walk out of the secret room robotically as his mind was in complete turmoil. Two thoughts were concurrently running through his mind: "Senjutsu influence is somehow corrupting me" and the more mind blowing thought "I need to have a kid with Shisui's mom".

When he walked out of the shine, he screamed one word to the sky to release all his frustrations - regardless of the attention he brought upon himself.

"FFFFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUCCCCCCCCCCKKKKKKKKKK!"

~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~

The group of elders waited until the yelling died down and the footfalls slowly faded before they resumed their discussion.

"I know that making the boy enter Danzo's graces was the plan. But was it really necessary to lie to the boy about how close Konoha is to losing? We are at a stalemate against the other four great nations. It doesn't seem like it would end anytime soon although we are at a slight disadvantage. But we aren't losing per say with all the attrition the other nations are facing..."

"The best lies always have a hint of truth." The austere elder recited the axiom.

"Indeed. Obito clearly doesn't trust us for some reason. It may be a byproduct from unlocking his Mangekyo or dancing so close to death. But it won't matter how much he tries to resist us." Hitomi replied as the genjutsu around her one working eye shattered, showing a black triangle inscribed on the red bleeding eye before the whole eye turned to pale white. "Kotoamatsukami (Distinguished Heavenly Gods) ensures that even the worst lies becomes the very truth."

"But a necessary truth, it is." The elder with a white beard added - without a tint of remorse. "To reap the fruits of our success, the future Uchiha will. Planted the seed, we have. Wait for the next generation, we shall. Then, return, our light will, for the Great Sage shall guide us."

"Certainly. And then, Infinite Tsukuyomi can blossom, once more, as _he_ foretold." Hitomi said as she blindly stared at the area where the stone tablet was sitting ominously by the wall.

"As he foretold." The other elders repeated together solemnly in unison.

~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~

Looking at the folder in his hand, that felt a lot heavier to Naruto than it should have, he quickly ran back to the Training Ground 40 with the pond to find Shisui happily blowing fist-sized fireballs across the water. He really didn't want to think about the convoluted mess that _Obito_ somehow _got him_ into so he sent the carefree boy to gather all the cute little Uchiha kids. He sat on the muddied, burnt grass and brought out blank scrolls and brushes as he waited.

Assisted by some Kage Bunshin, he started writing instructions for a jutsu that he was intimately familiar with in his old dimension. No matter how many problems he was currently facing (most recently - being forced to have a kid soon), he needed to make sure the kids - _his students _ \- would be well protected on their own when someone high up like _Danzo_ was poaching his students. Entering Root only guaranteed that he could no longer keep an eye over them. Thus, multiple precautionary measures must be put into place.

With a click, Naruto rolled his last scroll and placed it on top of the little hill he made from the scrolls. Dispelling the last of the Kage Bunshin, he turned when he heard loud footsteps to see the first set of Uchiha children running towards him.

"Obito-san!"

"Onii-chan!"

"Leader-sama!"

"Boss!"

An assortment of Uchiha children from the ages of four to ten shouted out loud happily as they gathered around him. He lifted one of the nearby little girls up into the air, Akame - Obito's memories helpfully supplied for him. Giggling, she yelled, "Faster, faster" at him as she gave him a happy grin as he spun around with the girl in his arms.

Putting her down, Uchiha Akame let out a pout as her spot was taken by an older boy. Regardless, she and the other children watched entranced as Obito picked up Uchiha Kenchi. Naruto then proceeded to throw the boy in the air as he screamed in delight before catching him and throwing him up again.

As Naruto waited for the rest of the children to come, he played with the various children as he silently committed to memory each kid in his arms that Obito knew. _Kiku, Ryota, Sakurako, Yua, Kazuo, Aoi… _the list went on and on. These were his students that he may never ever see again.

After a couple of minutes, he spotted the two last children heading towards him: Shisui and Itachi. Placing Uchiha Shun on the ground, he proceeded to yell, "Attention!"

With the order was heard by all, the children scrambled around like headless chickens to quickly find their neighboring students they were assigned to sit next to. Obito, one day, decided it was a good idea to mimic a classroom style setting outdoors, with the younger and shorter kids in the front, and the older and taller children in the back so he could start them on the basics of the Henge (Transformation Jutsu).

As the last couple of children sat down on the grass, Naruto walked towards them. Waiting for everyone's undivided attention, he began his speech as paced in front of his audience back and forth. "Uchiha Rangers! Today, I have called a meeting today because I have something important to tell you."

The kids quickly began whispering to one and another as they tried to guess what Obito was going to say. Waiting for the silence to die down, he continued. "I would like to inform you that the Uchiha Clan requests that I will join a super secret shinobi program!"

"Ooohhhh!" The younger kids chattered out excitedly to one and another while the older ones waited patiently for the other shoe to drop - as experience always dictated. "But! That means I will be out on the battlefield more often to do more dangerous missions. And thus, I won't have much time to teach you anymore."

There was an uncomfortable silence that engulfed the children. Hearing the outbreak of sniffles from the younger audience, Naruto hastily continued. He definitely did not want to deal with crying children. D-ranks already gave him enough experience with that.

"That is why... today, I want to give you all something very important. As a farewell gift from me, I will give you all the instructions for a very strong jutsu for your arsenal. A very useful A-rank jutsu."

Holding out his right hand with the palm in the air, he let his chakra flow through his arm. The chakra greedily molded into a familiar shape that he and his enemies were intimately familiar with - a red sphere made up of pure chakra.

"Rasengan (Spiralling Sphere)." Naruto muttered quietly, yet it was heard by everyone clearly.

Hearing the sounds of gasps and awes, he smiled gently at the children. Even the stoic Itachi was vibrating excitingly in his seat as his Sharingan eagerly tried to decipher the secrets of the sphere while simultaneously trying to ignore the excited, yet animated, Shisui next to him.

While he would rather spend the time infusing important philosophies, many of the older ones will be entering the battlefield in a couple of years. This jutsu would serve them well. He could only hope that that everyone would return to this spot for class in the future. But...he knew that not everyone would make it back.

Activating his Sharingan for a split second, he allowed its photographic memory to effortlessly remember this carefree image of all his students in front of him. He would do his best to end the war quickly. And if entering Root was the best way to go about it, he would do it despite his reservations. _After all, the ends justify the means…_

Summoning a sealless Kage Bushin that further excited the children, they gave a scroll to each children as he continued to speak. "These scrolls have the step-by-step instructions on how to perform this jutsu. However, it requires very good chakra control so make you start practicing your chakra control! If you can do tree walking, try practicing walking on water. If you can do that easily, then walk on jagged cliffs. Chakra control is very important for any shinobi so make sure you always practice. _Is that clear Uchiha Rangers?_"

"Yes sir!" The kids shouted out as they happily held onto their scroll.

"Good! Class dismissed."

Seeing the children run back home with excited faces brought a warm smile to Naruto's/Obito's face. _This is what I am and will fight for. For the children who never had a childhood, for Tsunami to be safe, for Team 7 to live. Everything is for the wellbeing of Konoha. _

~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~

Infusing chakra in his legs, Naruto effortlessly hopped on top of a nearby tree. Quickly spotting the object of desire in a clearing of grass, he let his chakra quickly take his legs to a familiar rock.

It didn't have the same number of names as it did in his dimension nor the number of cracks that hinted at its age, but it was still just as important to Naruto. With a finger, Naruto traced the smooth comforting grooves of the inscribed names of various shinobis who gave their life for this village. The true heros that were forgotten in the sands of time when Konoha fell in his world. _Sorry, Gaara, Onoki, A, Mei… I will butcher your future shinobi. For Konoha cannot dare to fall a second time under my watch._ _Please, forgive me… for the Shinigami will have none for me…_

Naruto stared at the memorial stone for a minute as he relished the quiet atmosphere that was periodically interrupted by birds singing. The peaceful atmosphere that could only be obtained by the countless sacrifices that these noble shinobi and kunoichi made to keep Konoha winning every war to date. Bowing in respect for the fallen, Naruto swiftly headed back home to get ready for his date with Tsunami. He would do his part to ensure Konoha would stay on top.

Madara could wait.

_Now then, how can I break the news to Tsunami-chan?_

~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~

As he left the monument, he never heard the quiet voice whisper in his head. _The Shinigami may not forgive you, but I shall. Well done, my instrument. You have journeyed the first steps towards the zenith hour; for you are on the path to salvation. My salvation._

Two basic sharingan eyes glowed in the darkness as a shadowed figure stared at the large, pristine fuin cage that once housed the great Kyuubi.

With a small twitch of the index finger, what was once three tomoe rotating in each eyes rippled into a long forgotten Mangekyo Sharingan pattern that danced furiously in the murky darkness. The eyes displayed three straight bars stretching from the enlarged pupil in the center.

Then, they _evolved even further… _

_I never got to thank you… nii-san. _The figure whispered to himself in the shadows as the pattern changed once more to display concentric ripples with nine endless twirling tomoe in each eye. Raising his arm, the individual gently placed his palm on one of the bars of the cage. Pulling back, the mysterious figure watch stoically as the bar, that once resisted the destructive might of the strongest biju, started to turn black and _rot_.

_I never got to thank you… for everything… _

~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~

A/N: (I recommend that everyone should read this side note to avoid further confusion!)

And that's a wrap on this delicious chapter. In this chapter, we see a lot of manipulating done that would have a lot future consequences down the line (for our awesome protagonist, for the interesting plot, and for that delicious harem sandwich)!

A major plot point that you may be confused on is that Naruto thinks that he is in an alternate dimension when in fact, he is NOT. He is currently back in time, just with Obito's body. The elders manipulated the facts to make Naruto think that Konoha was losing in this time so that he would have a greater incentive to enter Root _for the Uchiha_. An unknown/accidental byproduct from this manipulation is that Naruto _wrongly_ concludes is that "his Konoha" isn't the same as the "this Konoha" - since the textbook doesn't say that "his Konoha" was losing at any stage of the war. Of course, had he actually paid attention or stayed in class, he would know otherwise.

Textbooks are used (even today in the 21th century) for indoctrination/patriotic purposes so it wouldn't have anything too discriminating (like a nation quietly supporting inhumane torture for information or secretly funding certain rebellious groups) so the nation would not be seen under a bad light by its denizens. The lesson of the day people is: trust your textbooks' info with a grain of salt! But make sure you still know all the details to get good grades (if you are still in school like I am T_T)! :D

So I hope I cleared any confusion you guys have! If you still are confused with anything, put it on the review. I can try to address it for the Q&amp;A session for chapter 9.

This - and maybe some parts in the future (depending on the overall reception of this idea) - will have parts that Kishimoto _kinda neglects_ in the canon: misinformation. In today's world, information is a very, very powerful weapon in politics, economics, warfare and so many other things. So in Naruto's world where shinobi reign supreme and everyone has a bunch of skeletons to hide in their closet, information would be even MORE valuable. I hope that by adding the element of misinformation, Naruto won't easily be able to predict and kill off all the "future" antagonists. And thus, the plot spices up!

So please take a moment to leave a comment on your feelings with my idea! I love the widespread support you guys give me!


	9. Chapter 9: My Resolve Given Form

A/N: I was really surprised by how much widespread hate the Uchiha Elders received. Well, I guess I'm good at making OC antagonists! Lol…

Many of you have been commenting on how I messed up some of the ages - which I probably did. Age isn't a top priority when I'm thinking about how to make the plot more exciting. I will do my best to stick to the canon, but I will forget things here and there. I generally keep in mind how old the characters are in relation to each other. So I'm sorry if I screw up the ages with some characters (i.e. Inari)...

Q&amp;A Section:

Q: Why is Naruto teaching Rasengan to the little children when they probably won't learn how to do it?

A: This scene was used for multiple things. First, we see Naruto connection with the children is heavily influenced by Obito. So despite Naruto being "in control" of the body, Obito also has some degree of autonomy. Thus, Naruto has an emotional attachment with the children when he normally wouldn't. Second, Naruto has a skewed perception of how long mundane shinobis take to learn and master a jutsu. Naruto took a week and Konohamaru learned it "quickly" with vague instructions from Naruto. So, Naruto believed that the children would learn it faster than Konohamaru since he gave them the clear step by step instructions to do so. Even if they don't learn it, they will work on improving their chakra control - one of Naruto's main weaknesses he suffered from. Another plot point is that Obito shouldn't know how to do the Rasengan…and there are a couple more you can conjugate on your own!

~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

Chapter 9: My Resolve Given Form

When Naruto stealthily entered his house, he was greeted with the soothing humming from his tenant upstairs. Realizing he didn't have much time to prepare, he placed the documents pertaining to his finance on the dinner table before quickly making his way upstairs. He would rather leave the folder in his Kamui Dimension… but he didn't know if something as delicate as paper would survive the trip.

He went into his bathroom and got a white towel to wash his face. Then, he dabbed some light brown cream onto his palm. The Uchiha sat in front of his bathroom mirror as he gently hid the various creases and tiny stress marks "his face" accumulated. Working silently yet swiftly, he used his Sharingan to effortlessly find and cover any imperfections on his face.

Of course, had any of the traditionally-minded Uchiha realized that Naruto was using their mighty Sharingan to do something as trivial and mundane as putting on makeup, they probably would have died from a heart attack.

_Its pretty funny if I think about it._ The ex-Uzumaki shinobi mused to himself humorously as he beautified himself. _I never thought that I would ever be willing to wear makeup at any point of my life. Maybe Ino-chan was onto something back then at the Academy when she said a girl had to look her best to the teme… _Shutting the dojutsu off, he check his face one last time at the mirror to make sure he didn't put too much cream to make his skin look off colored. After redoing a couple of imperfections, Naruto was satisfied with his appearance.

Walking back to his bedroom, the time traveler crouched down to open the bottom drawer of the cabinet filled yukatas and kimonos in various colors. It used to be filled with Obito's old clothes, but they couldn't fit - and they also seemed kinda tacky to Naruto - so he magnanimously decided to donate them to the nearby orphanage. Rummaging through his recently bought collection of expensive shinobi grade-A silk clothing that dried up some of the rest of the funds Obito stored, he decided on a dark purple yukata with black maple leaf outlines. He figured that sooner or later, he would be able to take higher rank missions so he would be earning a lot more ryo.

Looking at the yukata he picked out, he wondered why he didn't buy these awesome, comfortable, stylish, and epic clothing earlier. _Maybe the teme did learn something useful abandoning Konoha for the snake bastard besides helping me affirm that the teme did have an attraction to guys._ Naruto snickered at the thought. _But I needed to get back on track. Stay focused Naruto!_ He inspected the yukata to make sure no loose strands were free before looking through his silk collection to pull out a dark blue obi and belt. _Yep! This combo looks good! Yuugao-chan and the teme would approve. _

Smoothly putting on the yukata like a pro and wrapping the obi and belt around his body, Naruto looked at his reflection one more time which painted a disheartening picture.

A face that bore no resemblance to his Uzumaki origins stared straight back. What was yellow short hair that he proudly inherited from his father was now long banal black with some strands of grey intermixed in and tied neatly together into a short ponytail. Moreover, the whiskers that showed proof to the world that he proudly was the Jinchuriki and friend of Kurama was now gone.

His past, his future, his world as Uzumaki Naruto disappeared into dust. None of his friends wouldn't be born for another ten plus years - assuming they will be born. What Naruto was left with in this new alien world was the persona of Uchiha Obito, his knowledge, and his own personal selfish goal.

Nothing else existed anymore.

Tears started to aggregate in his eyes as an inundate of emotions rammed into him with the weight of one of Lee's Supa Dainamikku Entori (Super Dynamic Entry). Emotions he tried to bury so hard ever since he came here started to aggregate into a large, overwhelming wave of sadness, anguish, and anger that threatened to engulf him in their darkness.

_Can I be even called Uzumaki Naruto anymore? My identity, my very soul, is changing. Everything I worked so hard for is now gone… and I am once again all alone. Should… should I try again? Or can I just give up and die now? _What seemed to be an easy question for any person given a second chance proved to be difficult for Naruto to answer.

The precious bonds he made, not just in Konoha, but all over the Elemental Nations ceased to exist when he was reborn as Obito. His nindo (ninja way) he gained from talking to Haku so long ago is dissolving under the crushing weight of Madara's wisdom and the harshness of reality itself. His own "Naruto" personality, that was recently heavily influenced by Sasuke's sacrifice and the Fifth Shinobi World War, was slowly being adulterated with Obito's naive personality. The time traveling shinobi truly believed that in a couple of years, he couldn't truly call himself "Uzumaki Naruto" anymore.

But what was more distressing to the Uzu-turned-Uchiha was what the future had in store for him.

Was it guaranteed that the new bonds he would make in this new dimension would stay with him till he died permanently? For all he know, he could end up getting another chance of living in a whole other dimension after he died in this world by this world's Rikudo Sennin or be resurrected with Edo Tensei (Impure World Reincarnation). He could be cursed as an immortal dimensional traveler - forever burdened by the mountain of corpses made of his past friends and lovers that only he could see.

That was what scared him more than the limitless power Madara brought with him on the battlefield.

His close bond with Tsunami gave him a sense of stability and purpose and filled the crushing loneliness in his empty cavity he called a heart. The civilian he lived with provided a beautiful future to Naruto, enticing him with their soothing songs of companionship, happiness, and peace. That is why Naruto couldn't believe he would ever be the same if Tsunami suddenly died.

His budding love with Hanabi was abruptly destroyed when she died and he still hasn't recovered from his loss.

So what would happen if he fell deeply in love with the ex-farmer only to see her die as well? Moreover, what would happen if he would be forced to experience the delicate bond of love be violently shattered over and over again for eternity?

Naruto didn't have any answers.

But what he did know was that he could not contend with his demons today - despite knowing it wasn't healthy to bury his emotions.

Activating his red eyes, he felt all the emotions evaporate as his eyes sucked out his expressive feelings and left only a desolate land of blackness as he perceived the world in slow motion. He took what felt like hours, but was actually minutes, to calm down and bury his insecurities away under lock and key.

When he focused back on the mirror, what used to be blue eyes filled with happiness only showed red eyes of the Sharingan stare stoically back at him.

Getting a tissue, he dabbed away the lucid tears that were the remains of the emotions that threatened to engulf him in their sinful embrace. Channelling his Uchiha persona modelled after his dear friend and rival, he forced himself to be in control of his emotions. Making one last check on his person, he made sure he looked the best he could be for Tsunami. _Appearance. Check. Emotions. Under control. Let's go! _

Hopping out of the window like all good ninjas do, he stood patiently in the front of his house for his other half.

~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~

After waiting a couple of minutes outside, Naruto realized he was facing a conundrum. _Should I tell Tsunami-chan I now have a fiance? On one hand, being honest is key in any relationship and having a relationship with another woman isn't going to help one bit. But on the other hand, I don't want to ruin what is supposed to be a relaxing night out for both of us. Gah! Why the hell did the elders decide to hitch me with someone now? They always ignored me before, unless they rewarded me whenever I pranked the Hyuga. So why now? I don't have a special lineage and I'm pretty sure the Mangekyo Sharingan abilities isn't genetically transferred. Sigh… And I still haven't got the chance to talk to Saeko-san about our situation… why is my life so god damn troublesome… _

Lost in his worries, Naruto was startled when the door loudly open with a kreen. He was greeted by a wonderful sight that made all of his previous worries evaporate seamlessly.

The figure that walked up to him wasn't a goddess by any means. That spot was reserved solely for Hanabi with her exotic eyes and lithe figure. But, there was a surge of primal desire flowing through Naruto as he greedily took in the sight of the woman he saved a month ago.

Tsunami was clothed in a light pink yukata decorated with cherry blossoms that beautifully contrasted her pale skin while showing off her alluring figure. He could already see the blank check he gave to Tsunami in regards to food definitely made her a lot healthier; not just on her bountiful figure but also the healthy red flush that dotted her cheeks. _Or it could be her embarrassment..._ The shinobi thought to himself. _She is just like Hinata-chan in so many ways, yet isn't in so many ways as well... _Her beautiful blue hair now had a entrancing shine to it and her black eyes was filled to the brim with happiness. In short, she was breath-taking.

The ex-Uzumaki had a brief surge of manly pride for being the very lucky individual of catching the attention of a woman who was beautiful both outside and inside.

Walking with a confident gait to his companion, he gave a disarming smile that belied the numerous butterflies he felt flying in his stomach. "You look very beautiful Tsunami-chan." He said calmly with a hint of raw desire seeping into his tone.

The confident demeanor of his date quickly shattered in front of Naruto from the weight of his praise. A visible blush painted her whole face red and she looked to the ground embarrassedly. There was an uncomfortable ambience of silence that filled the air as they both were awkwardly standing in front of the house.

While our socially ignorant protagonist was mentally reviewing through his notes to hopefully figure out what went wrong, Tsunami was frozen as she vividly remembered Obito's face that clearly ogled her. She already knew she was beautiful - based on the sizeable following of civilians and even some shinobis whenever she went outside the Uchiha District to buy groceries. But unlike the disgusting feeling she felt whenever drunk men blatantly leered at her - since it brought back terrible memories with the bandits - she rather felt excited and empowered that she had the power to elicit the undivided attention of her savior so easily.

She didn't know if she should feel proud or scared by how much power she had over Obito. He was a well-known member in the Konohan community for his altruism and compassion with the young and elderly. Furthermore, he was also a powerful and handsome shinobi; if the gossip she heard going around from the ladies at the fish market was true.

But what she did know is that she was going to make sure she captured his heart. She was going to make sure whomever hugged Obito was not going to have another chance of entering their lives. Their perfect future that was awaiting ahead for them, if she had anything to say about it.

If her Dad, Suzuki Tazuna, was here, she knew he would critically comment on how fast she was moving her relationship with Obito. But she justified it as making her claim well known to all the other harpies who were clearly interested in Obito.

Feeling suddenly emboldened, she broke the awkward stalemate by tightly hugging Obito. She took a moment to enjoy his comforting scent of maple trees as she did her best to ignore the attention the pair received.

When she looked up to stare at Obito's face, she saw the questioning glance in his eyes and stuttered. "Y-you...look v-very h-han-handsome." With her piece said, she buried her face back into his muscled chest lightly in embarrassment. _How am I supposed to tell him I love him if I can't even compliment him without stuttering? All those romance novels and fairy tails make it look so easy. _Tsunami bemoaned to herself.

Naruto simply gave a rare "Naruto" grin at the complement.

"Ready?" He whispered to her.

She nodded her head in his chest and took a step back as she failed to look back in his eyes. Naruto grabbed Tsunami's right hand delicately and the duo slowly walked towards their destination Ramen Ichiraku as they enjoyed the warm weather while the sun was setting.

~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~

Walking hand-in-hand with Tsunami was interesting experience. He was receiving a lot of blatant stares of disbelief by the passerbys as they did a double take at the rare sight of an Uchiha holding hands with someone in public who _wasn't_ an Uchiha.

Naruto slightly frowned at all the unwanted attention. While it wasn't oppressive by any means, it was very annoying to receive all this attention - especially on their first date. He was very tempted to shunshin to the ramen stall, but he didn't know how would Tsunami, or any civilian for that matter, would react to a rapid sudden change of acceleration.

His left arm was suddenly enveloped by a very comfortable feeling that was very familiar. Looking to the ex-farmer, he saw her walk closer to him to demurely hug his arm to her chest as she stared at the road. Naruto visibly frowned, realizing that Tsunami also seemed uncomfortable with all the attention. He was trying to help her recover from the traumatic event and this attention was definitely not helping.

Thus, he left with using his Sharingan to glare at the gawking people. With a small tilt of the head, strap on an emotionless frown, and ample use the inherited Uchiha arrogance, he mimicked Sasuke's patented glare that sent people running in fear.

_As it should be._ His mind boasted rightfully before he realized what he just thought. _Why did I just think of that? Is it from the susceptibility of having the Senjutsu passive ability? I thought it was because I was absorbing the nearby negative feelings from the elders and my dislike for Danzo that I was thinking way too darkly. The people aren't giving off negative emotions so I shouldn't have a problem anymore. Haaahhh… where is Ero-sennin? I really need to find him soon. _

"Thank you." The woman on his arm whispered gently, bringing Naruto back to reality. _For scaring all those harpies away. _She added to herself.

"Hn." Naruto absently muttered as they navigated his way through the thinning crowd to find the stall.

A minute later, the pair arrived at a clearing that held the beloved Ramen Ichiraku. Smiling at the thought of filling his stomach with the heavenly food, Naruto quickly pulled the flap and gestured for Tsunami to choose one of the two remaining seats that were fortunately next to each other.

Following behind her, he was engulfed by a wave of noglista. The stall was just exactly how he remembered it before Nagato destroyed Konoha. The simple and peaceful restaurant that was dedicated to having their customers enjoy their cheap yet delicious food. Sitting down at the wooden stool, he quietly inhaled the delicious aroma of his beloved noodles.

"Welcome to Ramen Ichiraku! What can I get for you today?" A man with black hair dressed in a white chef outfit stood behind the counter and greeted the pair joyfully while handling some noodles adroitly.

"I'll take a _shoyu ramen _(soy sauce ramen) with extra _chashu_ (sliced barbecued pork)." Naruto said as he observed the younger Teuchi. Feelings of happiness washed over him as he saw the youthful man who supported him through the tough times of being a shinobi in his last life didn't seem so different in this new dimension. _Just more… youthful_. He unconsciously shivered at the thought.

Teuchi nodded before looking at his companion. "And what will you have miss?"

"A _miso ramen_." She said to Teuchi but was busy reaching under the table to find Naruto's hand. Feeling the hand dancing near him, he engulfed the smaller, yet dainty appendage. They both enjoyed the physical comfort and warmth their companion provided.

"Gotcha. A _shoyu_ with _chashu_ and a _miso_ coming right up for the lovely couple!"

Setting off another blush on Tsunami's face, Naruto turned his head to fully absorb the details of the familiar dainty stall. The old wooden boards, the black stain above the stove, the red counter top - everything was just like he remembered it. A smile formed on his face as he looked around to see the various customers sitting at the table top quietly enjoying their food.

The moment was perfect. All he needed is to taste of the Food of the Gods with someone he really cared about. At the moment, he could care less about all the problems and drama he was currently facing.

It was when his eyes made direct eye contact with the individual sitting on the left of him that the world suddenly _froze _before the whole world greyscaled into bland shades of grey.

_Do I ever get a break?_ Naruto absently wondered as he discreetly arming himself with a hidden kunai and placing himself between the stranger and Tsunami. He reflexively activated the dojutsu to warily to face to the only other person who wasn't a shade of gray - the man who he continued locked eyes with.

"Impressive, no? My sensei told me the concept but it took two years to replicate the effects and another three to it into a viable jutsu. But your clan can easily unlock this jutsu and use it devastatingly at its inception. I believe your clan calls this genjutsu Tsukuyomi (Moon Reader)."

"Who… are you?" Naruto said as he continued to eye the sitting figure warily.

The man's image shifted softly from a common civilian into a familiar black shinobi outfit. "I am the leader of the Elite Spec Ops ANBU Branch Hokkadio for the duration of this war - in charge of overseeing wetwork and intelligence operations. You most likely know the group by its epithet, Root."

"You are… Shimura Danzo." He addressed cautiously.

"Correct boy. Congratulations on being accepted to Root. Come, sit down. I won't take too much of your time."

~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~

The Konoha Elder stared emotionless at the Uchiha who he knew who was caught off guard despite his stoic demeanor. And that was the type of prey the Konoha Elder liked to catch.

_Uchiha Obito, identification number 010886. Both parents died in the Second Shinobi War and his Grandmother who served as his guardian died four months ago in her sleep. Despite graduating at the age of 9 as the lowest ranking student of his graduating class, he is the first in his generation to be considered A-rank - furthermore by Hiruzen himself - surpassing Hatake Kakashi's prodigious advancement. Hobbies observed include playing pranks that display unparalleled cunning and ingenuity for someone his age yet paradoxically follow his female teammate, Rin Nohara, like a love sick puppy and fails miserably in his attempts to woo her._

But he frowned mentally when he observed the boy himself. The individual in front of him was nothing like his files suggested by his academic and team instructors. The most blatant indication the reports on this Uchiha was incorrect was the boy's drastic persona he had with the Suzuki Tsunami. Rather than acting like a bumbling and socially inept fool, he played the part of a mature gentleman - a far cry from the way he acted with his female teammate.

Furthermore, there was a drastic change in personality after unlocking the Mangekyo Sharingan. While Danzo expected the emotional baggage, he was not expecting the drastic increase in abilities the boy displayed: practicing D and C-rank elemental jutsus from all five elements, a rapid shift from the traditional Uchiha taijutsu to a mixture of taijutsu styles that contains elements of all the Great Village's standard taijutsu, and crafting an unknown weapon of some sort (if the intellegence's observations are to be believed).

It was as if another more experienced and well traveled shinobi wore Obito's body. But the idea was ludicrous. Only the Yamanaka could do so and there were under strict regulations for their mind-bending techniques and they haven't had a prodigy in generations.

Danzo instantly came up with various theories but narrowed it to the most reasonable conclusion: the boy was a hidden gem among gems. A boy who displayed unparalleled maturity by hiding his true self under the persona of a bumbling and incompetent boy. What reason he did this, the elder had no definite concrete ideas, but Danzo could appreciate the level of intellect and ingenuity the boy displayed. He was a shinobi in mind before the rest of his generation, he just needed time for his body to fully develop the muscles and chakra coils.

The Uchiha was an interesting intrinsic puzzle Danzo wanted to solve, but alas he didn't have the time to play with his food and pick it apart piece by piece.

Of course, he was still very suspicious and waiting for the other shoe to drop, but the boy could not fake the blatant emotions of love and raw desire he had for that immigrant civilian so he had a clear weakness. But if the boy proved his loyalty, then he wouldn't make unnecessary waves. Konoha was already facing several possible insurrection movements from internal dissents who weren't happy with the current regime. His suspicions of Obito were very low on the list of properties.

_As Tobirama-sensei always said, keep your friends close but keep your enemies closer. And I will definitely keep an eye on you Uchiha._

But Danzo never let any of his thoughts visibly appear. He pulled out a wrapped scroll and softly placed it on the table. "Here is the mission details for your first mission. Our ANBU branch is currently suffering from logistical deficiencies and a lack of manpower so the handling and receiving of mission details will be very different from what you are used to until we can fix it. All the details are in the scroll."

"Do I need to do it now?" Naruto asked politely, but held a tone of anger, as he sat down.

"No. You are expected to leave unnoticed tomorrow night at 23:10 by the exit located in Quadrant 5 Section 3. Any questions?" The elder said monotonically.

"No sir." Naruto said calmly as he tried to analyze the man who wasn't what the ex-Uzumaki expected him to be. The time traveler was tempted to use Senjutsu to figure out the elder's angle was but he really did not want to screw up his fractured personality anymore. Life was doing a great job doing that for him.

"Then I will take my leave." The man said as he placed some ryo by his bowl for the meal. "Enjoy your date." The man walked out quietly to find the next accepted applicant.

_Obito, however, acts very differently from the standard Uchiha modus operandi… No major signs of arrogance nor offense for blatantly showing a poor mimicry of one of the Mangekyo Sharingan's jutsus. Yes, I will definitely keep an eye on you Uchiha. You are an anomaly, an undocumented irregular. But, you do have potential to be so much more… for Konoha._

~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~

To Naruto who observed Danzo walk out of the stall, the the world suddenly unfroze again and color returned.

_So that's the man who wants my students, well then… Lets dance, Shinobi no Yami (The Darkness of Shinobi)... If you prove to be a troublesome dance partner, I can always bury you in a ditch somewhere._ Naruto smirked before he flinched when he felt a sharp migraine digging in his skull for a moment. Bringing his hand to rub his head, he attracted his companion's loving attention.

"Are you alright?" She muttered softly in concern, embarrassment forgotten.

"It's alright. I just had a small headache." Naruto said sheepishly, making the ex-farmer frown in concern. "I'm fine now. I think I'm just hungry. So tell me about your family..."

"Well, my Otou-san, Tazuna, is a construction worker who dreams about building beautiful wooden monuments and…" Tsunami chattered happily.

Naruto smiled at the woman chattering happily but he internally frowned. He really wanted to enjoy the date and tried to stay as attentive as possible to Tsunami, but his mind always somehow looped back to Danzo. Even with the Food of the Gods delivering their delicious yet explosive flavors in his mouth, he really couldn't focus on taking the time to savoring each bite. _Am I this pissed off at Danzo poaching my students? Obito's original personality can't have this much of an influence over my thoughts. There could be no possible way he has more influence over the Yin aspects of our chakra considering I lived longer and had greater chakra over him. It's impossible yet… I have been more emotional since I came here. Maybe an Uchiha trait I inherited?_

Despite his mind wandering, he did the best he could to be an attentive companion. While many men would roll their eyes at the thought of listening to a woman yammer all day, Naruto found her voice to be rather soothing. It made him feel human again…and made him realize how much he missed real human contact without worrying about the small chance of being blown up by artillery fire or stray jutsus. And it seemed that Tsunami was happy as well, so that was a plus in his book.

Time flew by quickly as Naruto juggled between listening to Tsunami talk about her life in Ame and discretely observing the possible hidden Root operatives. He wouldn't put it past the elder to somehow have ears all over Konoha and somehow use something in this conversation as leverage in the future.

"It's delicious." Naruto said when he finished drinking the delicious broth from his third bowl. He used to eat a lot more in his childhood, but living in the trenches made him adapt to eating a low calorie diet. "Thank you for the meal."

"Thank you." Tsunami echoed softly in agreement.

"Your welcome." Tenchi said as he gave a familiar grin to the pair - that Naruto learned was the how the cook was proud to satisfy another customer(s).

Naruto placed some ryo (with a generous tip) on the table and the pair quietly walked home together, hand in hand. With less people walking in the night, the pair was able to return to the Uchiha Compound without any trouble.

~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~

Naruto opened the door for Tsunami and silently gestured to enter first. Holding the door open, his eyes then saw a familiar folder sitting innocently on the table where he left it. He stood dumbfounded as he stared at the papers given by the elders. He soon snapped out of it when just realized that he didn't tell Tsunami about his finance. He turned around and opened his mouth to say-.

His mind screeched to a halt when he felt a familiar pair of smooth, velvety lips lock with his own. Unlike last time, however, he abruptly jerked away from the kiss - no matter how intoxicating it was to indulge in their sinful embrace.

He saw _something_ flash through Tsunami's eyes but it was too quick for Naruto to understand what is was. Embarrassed, ashamed, and most of all appalled for forgetting, his eyes were magnetized to the folder on the table. "I-I'm sorry Tsunami. I-I… I c-can't." He whispered as his eyes never once left the folder. _I cannot disobey the clan..._

Ignorant of the turbulent emotions flooding through Tsunami, he elaborated acrimoniously, "I-I was assigned a… f-finance… by the clan today. I… can't continue this relationship anymore…"

Somehow using all the willpower he could command, he slowly made his turn to look at his companion. Instead of the joy and happiness he in her eyes saw minutes earlier, it was all replaced black orbs filled empty hollowness. Before he could say something else, she immediately dashed upstairs.

"Fuck." Naruto cursed to himself. He really wanted to follow her, but something stopped him. It wasn't _his fault_ he hitched with a finance when he knew he had _something_ with Tsunami, but there were plenty of ways he could break the news easier. _And what I did was the worst possible way._

Sitting down on the stony gravel, his mind raced through the various ideas on what he could do to fix this relationship. It would have been easy to come up with a few ways, except he hampered by a huge migraine.

As a shinobi, Naruto was no stranger to pain. But the pain felt _different_; as if someone was randomly drill tunnels in his head. It didn't help that he was physically tired from training and mentally exhausted from burying his inner demons.

In the end, all he created was feelings of frustration - cursing his own incompetence.

Broken and enervated, Naruto simply created twelve Kage Bunshin (Shadow Clones) to make sure Tsunami doesn't try to commit suicide.

He walked towards his room, intent on catching up some much needed sleep after today's events. He looked further down the hallway to Tsunami's room and saw the door closed shut. He somehow willed himself to take a couple steps to her door and raised a hand to knock. But before he was able to, he froze when he heard the barely audible sounds of crying.

Naruto's eyes widely stared at the wooden door for minutes as if he could directly see the sad being inside mourning. His hand went limp as continue to hear the sounds of sobbing. _I am Uchiha Naruto Obito… the man who would stop Madara, the man who will bring the world peace, the man who Sasuke would be proud of…, the teme would sacrifice himself for the clan - just like his brother… So I must do the same as an Uchiha...everything for the Uchiha..._

He quietly walked back and closed his own door. Then, he angrily threw a kunai at the potted plant sitting in the corner and relished the delicious sound of vase shattering. _Heh, who am I kidding, I will always be Uzumaki Naruto - the dobe, a failure at being a shinobi and now a failure at relationships. I never can be like Sasuke… _

Slowly slipping into his futon, he let the sweet embrace of sleep take him away from the cruel reality of disappointment.

~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~

In the next room, tears poured down Tsunami's eyes as they hollowly gazed at a picture with both of them smiling at the dinner table.

She didn't hate Obito, she never could. He saved her life, gave her a wonderful place to stay, did his best to take care of her every need, and so much more. She knew that she could never repay the shinobi for everything he did to make her feel better. That was why she was willing to do _anything_ to keep him happy.

Her body and soul was his and only his.

While some may argue that she was just using him to keep herself safe, Tsunami instead believed that her love was much deeper than most. Their relationship would stand strong through the test of time while others would break and crumble. She _wasn't wrong_, the world _was_.

And now, her love was in danger.

She mustered all of her sneaking skills to quietly walk downstairs without disturbing Obito. There, she saw the folder; the catalyst that Obito stared before telling her everything. Curious of its contents, she opened it and was greeted with a picture of a kunoichi.

_Uchiha Saeko...eh...So this might be the bitch hugging my man yesterday…_ A twisted smile briefly appeared on her face as she stared at a beautiful woman smiling gracefully in the picture. She continued to quickly read through the biography of the Uchiha. The report painted a horrible picture - a powerful and elegant shinobi on the battlefield and an ideal yamato nadeshiko in the household. She was the perfect wife for any shinobi. _I think I need to step up my game…_

The only thing Tsunami knew she beat the woman was her physical assets and the very, very close bond she had with Obito.

If any other civilian was in her situation, they would quickly relent under the weight of a prestigious and influential clan. But she wasn't any normal civilian. She was a farmer who willingly smuggled herself out of Ame and walked through blood stained fields to find a better life. She was no stranger to hardship when she was born. Surrounded by depressing weather of non stop raining and an oppressive ruler, she built her whole life out of the muddy dirt.

And now when the sun was finally shining and the future was looking up, was she going to give up when she was so close to her goal?

_Hell no._

She wasn't going to lose _him_ without a fight.

_It's on… bitch._

~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~

A/N:

I am so sorry for this chapter coming out way later than I planned. Schooling and family took up a lot of my time and while I would like to daydream and write this fanfic everyday, writing stories isn't a top priority. So, once again, I'm sorry. Hopefully, once everything in my life gets sorted out, I can start producing a chapter monthly.

Anyway, this is how far the Naruto x Tsunami relationship will develop for the moment. It may seem their relationship is moving way too fast, but you need to take into account both individuals aren't mentally sound and there is a war currently going on. So, what seems like a hasty relationship actually does has some merit (at least in my eyes :D). Now, I can move on to other females that you guys have suggested and start nurturing those juicy relationships.


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